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itsclydebitches · 2 years

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RWBY Volume 9 Trailer

Hello, everyone!

There’s no real need for introductions anymore, so let me dive right in by saying it bluntly: I don’t think this is a good trailer. Not just when it comes to the story we’re getting, but also in regards to the construction of the trailer itself. It tells us incredibly little while merely looking like a complex, exciting adventure.

Let’s start, as always, with our opening shot.

We saw the whole of this Wonderland in our teaser, but this time the map is accompanied by Weiss narrating all that’s happened to them since they were separated. This tells the audience that a) the girls reuniting will not be a focal point of the Volume’s conflict and b) the journey is highlighted by its comedy rather than its hardships. We learn that Ruby has befriended a talking mouse, Weiss and Blake dealt with killer vines (and were rescued by an army of more talking mice, so presumably Ruby finds them?), and Yang had her arm stolen by a purple raccoon carrying a wagon full of trash.

Do I really need to point out how misguided the tone is here?

Let’s recap: the group just fought their oldest enemy to the ‘death’ and lost, horrifically. Ruby watched her sister fall into a void and Blake had an actual reaction to that presumed demise. Weiss knows that Penny is Really Dead, having been there when Jaune killed her, and last any of them saw Cinder was waltzing off with two of the relics. They may not know that their portals opened into the hostile desert, but the questions of, “Did we succeed? Are the people safe? Where is Salem now? Where is Jaune? Did he make it?” should be haunting them. I literally don’t care if each girl gets a mini-moment of thinking Sad Thoughts pre-reunion---insert Weiss’ wet eyes here

---because the stakes of the story are now so high they simply can’t go back to that lighthearted ‘Look at all these wacky hi-jinks🤪’ tone. These four girls know they just destroyed a kingdom, they know Salem is out there taking out more of Remnant, they know they’re lost in a strange and hostile world, one of them knows a friend was just killed by a teammate... and the best we can do is a deadpan, “Yes. That.” when they come back together?

The problem doesn’t solely lie in the girls’ comedic attitudes, but in the writers deciding that the follow-up to Volume 8 should be comedic situations. Imagine if post-Volume 3 the girls immediately had some Wacky Adventures following their school’s destruction, Penny’s death, Yang’s lost arm. Imagine how badly that would have come across... and know that we are getting that kind of contrast six Volumes later.

All this aside, the situations themselves look far from engaging to me. Unless there’s some magic at work, you’re telling me Weiss and Blake can’t break away from some vines, even without their weapons? The girls who frequently put craters in the earth with their aura? The teammate who can create a copy of herself to get out of a (literal) bind? And no, we don’t know the whole context, but this isn’t presented as a high stakes situation... which, again, is the point. We’re supposed to laugh at these quirky problems, not grapple with the avalanche of emotions Volume 8 introduced and now seems inclined to ignore.

Don’t even get me started on Yang having her arm stolen. I’ll head off any push-back by saying that no, the problem is not in having her lose the arm, or even having someone else take it. I’ve been saying for years that RWBY should have taken a FMA approach (or, you know, followed their own in-world rules when they introduced Maria’s eyes as being in need of frequent repair) and introduced the obstacle of Yang’s arm breaking down in the middle of fights, reacting badly to the cold, in need of specific parts she can no longer get once she makes an enemy of Atlas’ general, etc. Other characters can also display ableism as a form of commentary, so having someone else take Yang’s arm---especially a non-human somebody that has presumably never seen a person before and is ignorant of their needs---could be really compelling. All that’s okay.

The problem is we’re treating this as a joke.

The takeaway is not that Yang losing her arm is a deeply uncomfortable experience for her that highlights her struggles as a disabled person and may well have put her in legitimate danger, considering she doesn’t know how to fight one-handed. The takeaway is ‘Lol her arm was taken by a raccoon! A purple raccoon! And put with the trash! Everyone laugh at the idea of someone’s assistive device getting stolen and discarded like that! You know what makes for a cool flash-back gag? Having Yang play tug-of-war with her arm. That’ll get the audience laughing after the horrors of Volume 8!’

In another show I’d be more forgiving and say only that they need to make use of sensitivity readers. But after Volume 8 turned our most physically disabled character into the villain, killed off the android after making her human without her consent, and plain forgot about the blind fighter? I’m not feeling charitable towards stolen arm jokes.

The fact that the raccoon looks like an auctioneer type with the ‘trash’ being things he’s collected to sell may add another layer to this mess.

After Weiss’ voice-over we learn that the girls are trying to reach the tree because they think it may help them get home. This is what I mean about the trailer being badly constructed because that’s all we know about the central quest. It’s staggeringly simple and the journey there is riddled with just a few scenes (and numerous side characters we’ll leave behind) getting broken up into small, re-arranged chunks to make it look like more content than it actually is. We have Blake dealing with the killer vines---trapped, reaching for her weapon, pushing through them at the start---which is something we know happens very early in the volume, likely the first half of the first episode:

Yang standing atop that bridge and perhaps coming across Neo in the mountains:

Ruby finding the pile of leaves, with the creature emerging later in the trailer:

And we see the majority of the encounter with this queen-like character. Ruby is playing fantasy chess with her teammates as the pieces, they battle, get thrown off the board, and then the queen is defeated. As I’ve done below, we can rearrange the quick shots to see the structure of many interactions, all of it spliced up to fill the trailer with a ‘variety’ of content.

Given that I just watched the show + given the obvious Alice allusions, I’m tempted to compare all this to Alice in Borderland’s trailer, a text which actually hints at a lot of the conflict while giving very little away, actively encouraging the viewer to come back after they’ve watched the show because many shots mislead you... but I don’t have time for that tonight lol. The point is: others do it better.

Moving on, we see this version of the Cheshire cat who hurts my eyes, continuing the misguided tone, is introduced to us via a butt joke. I mean seriously, imagine something like this back in Volume 3 and early Volume 4. Picture Qrow coming in to talk to Ruby about her rare silver eyes and the destruction of her school... and leading with some fart pun. It’s so juvenile and while there’s nothing wrong with juvenile on its own, following what we got in Volume 8? It simply doesn’t mesh.

This cat---who can apparently move pieces of himself independently---says,“You do not go to the tree, the tree goes to you, unless of course you’re me… you see” and an unamused shot of Blake and Yang shows that no, they don’t see and they probably don’t care. Really, I haven’t been a fan of the girls’ attitude for several Volumes now, but I’m with them on this one. I wouldn’t be in the mood for riddles after everything they’ve been through either.

Beyond the tree and a few stretched out interactions, the trailer gives us only a bit of internal struggle by having a woman (that knight?) proclaim, “You were never the hero” and asking Ruby if she wouldn’t like to shed her identity like an old coat. Now, on the surface I really like this. From the shot of Ruby facing her old self

to the implication that this Wonderland might capture people by offering them the chance to shed their previous lives---has Jaune fallen victim to this after killing Penny?---it’s a compelling setup to finally, finally give Ruby some emotional growth. And it could be great! The only reason I hesitate to applaud it early is because such setups usually herald the revelation that the protagonist is the hero. Rarely do we end on the idea that they could become a hero if they put significant effort in moving forward (again, Alice in Borderland...) and never, to my knowledge, does the story say, ‘Yeah you DO suck and that’s where we’re leaving things.’ 99.9% of the time a ‘Am I a hero?’ question is answered with an emphatic ‘YES!’ by teammates, friends, family, saved victims, the narrative itself bestowing a power or a relic or anything else that only the Chosen One can wield. Coupled with the fact that it’s likely our antagonist delivering these lines, there’s very little chance that Ruby is going to come out of this experience with the drive to radically change her behavior. Because this trope AND the show’s history is firmly on the side of proving the heroes’ doubts wrong. This Volume will likely work as a reassurance. Like Yang confronting Ren out in the snow, Volume 9 will tell us that Ruby did the right thing, actually, and don’t you feel sorry for her, doubting herself needlessly like that?

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not invested in a story that’s going to push that perspective even harder than it has in the past, not when the heroes HAVE made horrendous mistakes and the show continually wants us to ignore that.

What else? Much of the dialogue feels stilted to me, particularly Weiss’ “Let’s try to be more logical, shall we?” There’s no mention of Volume 8’s tragedy except for 1. them trying to get home and 2. a brief shot of Penny, again making me worry that grappling with the biggest defeat of the series is going to take a backseat to Wonderland’s silly, distracting nonsense. I question why Blake thinks they’re in a fairy tale when nothing seen here reflects the in-world stories Remnant has, so are we going to end up with another Volume that simply tells the audience how we should be interpreting things, rather than doing the work to show us? The animators have clearly put a LOT of work into the backgrounds, but I’m personally just not jiving with their look. I can’t even articulate yet why I dislike many of them... the color palettes feel off, there’s this odd mix of chaos and order like they couldn’t decide which to go with... I like the thematic implication of the girls not fitting the art style of the world anymore, but actually watching that give me a headache. My preferences aside, no one is going to be watching this Volume unless they pay Crunchyroll for the access, or wait a whole year. If that was RT’s attempt to nudge more people into paying, they’ve failed spectacularly. Anyone not already eager to get First access to RWBY (which, of course, isn’t First anymore) isn’t going to shell out another subscription when faced with such a wait time. They’re just going to pirate it, the exact thing RT is begging fans not to do. That, or they’ll drop RWBY entirely.

Honestly, I’m struggling to name things I like about this trailer--and this situation in general. I admit freely that in a show with less drama going on, I’d likely be more forgiving of the nitpicks and optimistic about the ambiguous stuff, but here everything the Volume 9 trailer has given us feels like it’s reinforcing the franchise’s problems. They don’t have a coherent story to tell. They don’t know what tone they’re going for. They’re not stable and outright admit that, pleading with fans to keep them afloat. All of this is arriving years late as more horrific stories about the employees’ treatment continues to surface. RWBY needed a stellar trailer to capture the imagination of everyone who’s not a devoted, with-you-until-the-very-end-no-matter-what-you-produce fan and, frankly, I think they failed to deliver.

The last thing I want to say about our trailer is that it perfectly highlights RT’s tendency to repeat tropes from more popular media without understanding why those writing choices worked in the first place. Alice in Wonderland is not a ridiculous, nonsensical acid trip meant to show how ~crazy~ the world is. It’s a commentary on what it’s like to be a little girl navigating an adult world. Everything Alice goes through is an exaggerated, metaphorically-laden version of real life: here’s a rule, here’s a different rule, these two rules contradict, someone’s mad at you, you don’t know why, you’re trying, it’s not good enough, here’s a new rule, it still doesn’t make sense, you want to cry, you want to scream, you want to go home to your cat, your body is so small in this massive world and then it’s suddenly it’s too big and then you’re small again and your tears will surely drown you and through it all the adults are telling you to do better and you don’t know how.

Take, for example, Alice and the Cheshire Cat:

“Please would you tell me,” said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, “why your cat grins like that?”

“It’s a Cheshire cat,” said the Duchess, “and that’s why. Pig!”

She said the last word with such sudden violence that Alice quite jumped; but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby, and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:—

“I didn’t know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn’t know that cats could grin.”

“They all can,” said the Duchess; “and most of ’em do.”

“I don’t know of any that do,” Alice said very politely, feeling quite pleased to have got into a conversation.

“You don’t know much,” said the Duchess; “and that’s a fact.”

Alice did not at all like the tone of this remark, and thought it would be as well to introduce some other subject of conversation.

Alice is timid because she’s speaking to an Important Adult and she knows how easy it is to mess that up. Is she even allowed to speak first? She has a good, genuine question, but is dismissed with an indifferent “they all can” and the non-explanation of “and that’s why.” She’s startled by the sudden violence, scared, and then relieved when it’s not directed at her, though it easily could have been. Through it all Alice stays polite and is thrilled that she’s managing a real conversation... until suddenly a cold tone and an insult tears her down and she tries again to navigate an ever-changing, confusing, intimidating world. Alice in Wonderland is not nonsense for the sake of nonsense. It’s a commentary on how we treat our children.

What is RWBY commenting on?

#rwde #rwby #rwby spoilers #mymetas

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corvus--rex · 2 years

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Before I start/post anything else, I've decided to make a master list of all my ao3 fics in chronological order from the very first fic I posted. I am Klance trash, so that's all you'll find here. Note that some of them are a/b/o, those will be marked. None of these have been beta'd, so be warned

This got long, so as much as I don't want to...

Our Life in Pictures

60k, rated mature, ongoing, modern au, omegaverse, alpha Keith, omega Lance

A collection of scenes following the relationship between Keith, a tattoo artist, and Lance, the dancer who caught his attention from the dance school across the street.

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All I Need

25k, rated mature, modern with magic au, this one's been discontinued, but I do still like the setting so...

Five years after a traumatic event that resulted in Keith losing everything and everyone and the self-destructive spiral that followed, he accepts a job transfer to the big city. He’s in recovery and more stable than he’s been in years, but his past still haunts him. When he accidentally rescues an odd man and his cat one night, Keith finds out that not only is the guy a witch, but that so is he. Keith knows nothing of his origins, having been in the foster care system all his life. Together, they begin to unravel his true past, but at what cost?

Trigger Warning: First chapter deals heavily in trauma, self-harm, and substance abuse, off-screen character death, and fire.

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Incanto

3k, rated teen, modern au, inspired by Mediaeval Baebes, this has been placed in a medically-induced hiatus

Keith and Lance had a major falling out just before graduating college over their career directions. Keith wanted to leave home to teach in another state, Lance wanted him to stay with Incanto, the six-member choir they'd started in high school. A year after graduation, and Keith is back home. He's rejoining Incanto and his friends. And maybe he might be able to finally admit how he really feels about his best friend.

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Dormiveglia, that precious space

18.8k, rated teen, ongoing, canonverse, not canon compliant, omegaverse, alpha Keith, omega Lance, set just after s2e8 The Blade of Marmora

Dormiveglia - the space between sleeping and waking

Lance hated being an omega. He'd always hated his secondary sex status. It followed him everywhere, up to and including the Garrison. Now he was in space, and it had followed him there as well. It seemed that Alteans, Galra, and most other races also had the alpha-omega traits and that it wasn't limited to humans. And so, Lance's omega status had followed him into space, and there was nothing he could do about it. It also didn't help that he'd fallen hard for a certain alpha.

He didn't know that that certain alpha was falling for him too.

Or that he may never live to see those feelings realized.

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Here Come the Vultures

7.9k, rated teen, ongoing, band au, omegaverse, alpha Lance, omega Keith

Castle of Lions was a hugely successful European-styled metal band. The only problem was the part where Keith Kogane, the band's vocalist, was an omega. It was a necessary secret, given how society viewed male omegas, and one that the band and their label swore to keep. But just how long can it stay a secret?

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The Sound of Color

4.5k, rated teen, ongoing, soulmate au, omegaverse, alpha Lance, omega Keith

Lance is a 21-year-old college student and Alpha, working hard on a music degree. He has a circle of friends he loves and who love him, the only problem is that they've all found their soulmates and he hasn't. Most people have found theirs by then, and he's worried he never will. But an end-of-semester party may change that.

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Play Date

280 words, rated general, post-canon, one of only 2 that aren't explicitly klance, this one's actually zezor, but the klance can always be assumed

Based off this Tumblr prompt: Zethrid attempts to surprise Ezor with something special

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Someone to Talk to

596 words, rated general, canonverse, not canon compliant, just Pidge and Shiro

Based on this Tumblr prompt: One of the paladins has a queer crisis. Shiro to the rescue.

Or, Pidge has something to say and turns to Shiro for support.

☆

The Summer of the Moving Vans

651 words, rated general, modern au, childhood friends-to-lovers

Based on this Tumblr prompt: Childhood!AU Keith and Lance are next door neighbors - until a moving van shows up one day.

Lance and Keith were best friends. The summer after second grade proved eventful with a stream of moving vans all vacation. Looking back on it ten years later, they talk about just how life changing it was.

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Paladins on Ice

708 words, rated general, canonverse, not canon compliant, team shenanigans

Based on this Tumblr prompt: When Allura finally gets the door to the training deck unlocked, she’s surprised to find that it’s been temporarily repurposed into an ice rink, and that someone is a talented ice skater…

The Paladins are up to something, Allura wants to know what it is, and when she finds out, she learns that one of them has an unexpected talent.

☆

Why is it Always you?

2.5k, rated general, college au, coming out, title's bc something something every universe, something something every reality

Based on this Tumblr prompt: When Lance has some internal questions about his orientation, Keith surprises him by being there to offer support.

A snowstorm shuts down Lance’s college, and he finds his thoughts drifting to one of his oldest friends and feelings he can’t make sense of.

☆

Julance Prompts 2021

33k, rated teen-explicit, various aus, some are omegaverse, alpha Keith, omega Lance, and also alpha Lance, omega Keith

Most of the prompts will be from my own AUs, with the title after the prompt in the list. Rating and tags will be in the top notes of each chapter/one shot, please remember to check them as they will change. Also note, most are abo/omegaverse. The ones that aren't will be tagged as such.

02 - Musician au - Here Come the Vultures 03 - Blue Paladin - Dormiveglia 04 - Allura & Lance - Crystal Venom rewrite 06 - Catboy - mafia/assassin au 07 - AU of choice - Cyberpunk 12 - Fashion - model au 15 - Paranormal/Magic - modern magic au

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This is Why I Said Yes

131 words, rated general, post canon, just pure fluff

Post-war married domestic fluff starring Klance!

☆

Klancetober 2021

7.7k, rated teen-mature, various aus, some are omegaverse, alpha Lance, omega Keith

01 - college/coffee/party - How You Like That

02 - supernatural/magic/nighttime - Core Burn

03 - cold/autumn leaves/rain - Autumn

04. festival/pumpkins/haunted house – This is Halloween

☆

Yule Magic

914 words, rated general, magic au

Lance hasn't been back in his home town for very long and promised his best friend Hunk that he'd come by the Golden Lion Bakery soon. He was expecting to see what they'd done after renovating, he wasn't expecting a new member of staff. Yule was a time for magic, and this was no exception.

☆

If I Didn't Know Better

715 words, rated teen, canonverse, not canon compliant

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were about to kiss me."

Keith's frustration with the war spills over into his sparring session with Lance, whose attempt at breaking the tension does not go the way he planned.

☆

Bonfires and Flower Crowns

1.6k, rated general, magic au, sequel to Yule Magic

Two months after first meeting, Lance and Keith are pretty seriously dating, but haven't taken the next step of making their relationship official. Imbolc marks the traditional start of spring. Maybe a change of seasons is nudge they need to make that shift

☆

Player 3 is Waiting to Join

1.6k, rated general, modern au, omegaverse, alpha Lance, omega Keith

Omega Keith is a streamer/youtuber, and he and Lance are getting ready for their first child. This is just a few minutes of fluff during their day, plus a surprise present.

☆

Food & Family

1.2k, rated general, post canon, not canon compliant

"Keith attempts to cook. The results are surprising."

After the war, Keith thinks back to when, at age 12, he found himself alone for the afternoon and decided to take care of his lack of after-school snacks on his own and what happened as a result.

☆

The Bonding Moment™: Part 2

526 words, rated general, canonverse, Keith is a dumbass but we knew that

We all know The Bonding Moment™. We know what happened and how Lance then denied its very existence. But there's the part we didn't get to see. Keith's disaster gay meltdown later on…

☆

The Marmoran's New Clothes

385 words, rated general, canonverse, not canon compliant

"With much hesitation, Kolivan agrees to try dressing in Earth clothes."

Kolivan had resisted the idea of even trying to wear human clothing, but a trip to the mall later, and Lance, Keith, and Krolia are beginning to regret suggesting it.

Unlike the Emperor, this outfit isn’t made of air and wishful thinking. But to the three witnesses to this catastrophe, it might actually have been an improvement.

☆

Listen and You Can Hear the Ocean

2.2k, rated teen, college au sort of, mermaid au

After years of dreaming of the ocean, Keith heads off to university to pursue marine biology. A chance encounter with a familiar stranger shows him a past he'd long forgotten and the future they can forge together.

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Red Blood & Blue Violets

8.1k, canonverse, not canon compliant at all, this was an exercise in pain, two endings, one good, one not so much, there's Keith/oc in chapter 3, be advised that I am now attached to this oc and he will be coming back

Based off this Tumblr prompt: "Please don't go"

Keith and Lance had become feared by Galra soldiers across the known universe for their flawless fighting style, the seasoned pair regularly taking down many times their small number alone. Until now. He’d failed. They always had each other’s backs, and he’d failed.

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A Different Kind of Sunset Scene

990 words, rated teen, post canon, not canon compliant, it's got they/them trans enby Lance

Based on this Tumblr prompt: “Lance talks Keith into taking a break from work to go for a sunset stroll.”

Keith was supposed to be taking a break. As in, not working 12-18 hours a day. But even away from the field, leading the Blades was a lot of work. He’d sworn – promised, even – that the diplomatic bureaucracy for the day shouldn’t have taken any more than a few hours. But that was what he’d said at breakfast at 8 in the morning. It was nearing sunset, and he’d barely taken a minute away for lunch. Ok, if he wouldn’t do it himself, his loving husband would have to do it for him.

☆

One Last Hunt

4.4k, rated mature, ongoing, college au, with witch Lance and [REDACTED] Keith, and ghosties and other critters

Lance practiced magic. The real stuff, not this new age shit. It's why he got into ghost hunting with Hunk and Pidge. Everything he knew came from books; hopefully meeting ghosts and spirits would teach him something new.

Pidge has a surprise for them for Halloween. Two surprises actually. One is going to the most haunted property in the area on the night in question. The other is that she invited campus cryptid Keith Kogane. Everyone knows who he is, but no one actually knows him. Everything about him is just slightly off in a way that no one can quite put their finger on, and it seems that he knows something about the haunted estate.

Getting closer to Keith on Halloween will definitely be an interesting experience. What does he know that he's not telling? Is he even human? Lance knows it's possible, but not even he's prepared for the truth.

☆

Keith Kogane, Snake Whisperer

1.5k, rated teen, canonverse, not canon compliant, danger noodles are friend-shaped

While on a mission to secure an alliance for the Coalition, Team Voltron find themselves deep inside the cave system below the surface of the planet Vuria. They're there to retrieve an artifact sacred to the Vurians' ancestors. They weren't expecting an encounter with the planet's wildlife. But it's fine, Keith's got it covered.

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A Candidate for a Soulmate Bled

1.9k, rated mature, ongoing, soulmate au, musician Keith, bartender Lance, first words soulmarks (sorry Lance)

Lance tried not to look at the words on the inside of his left wrist. Ever since they first showed up on his thirteenth birthday he tried to look at them as little as possible. The first words he would hear from his soulmate, sitting there in their own handwriting in neat, sharp script: slittin’ my throat it’s all I ever Lance has worried about those words for ten years, especially now that his soulmark is beginning to bloom red...

#my writing #ao3 #keith kogane #lance mcclain #keith x lance #klance #vld #voltron #voltron legendary defender #updated with the new one

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cutepastelstarsalior · 9 months

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Clone high season 2 live blogging

Episode 6

:( the dinner is going to be sold

Yeah I can see why some people don’t like the dinner because of the racial segregation….

Did some guy just buy to eat the dead wife????

👀 disabled Joan!??? Let’s goooooo!!!!! Detective Joan!!!! Awe cute Joan had a cat <3

“Psylly legs is build up nostalgia the legs get psylly”

….So Joan is just stimming???? (I thought she’d had restless leg syndrome)

If people bullied Joan because of her medical stuff, why didn’t Joan help Ghandi when people hated on him for his adhd? Also man does this town have an ableist history…..

Blood pack!!!!! Same big mood with the doctor not handling blood 😩

Yay Joan’s weird French films!!!! DAVID FUCKING TENNANT???!!!!!! <3 ohmgggg I love him as 10

Heyyy trash Mandy Moore lady is back!! :0

Did I meant I love the colors in this show? I do…

Noooooo jfk cheating on Joan? Wait…or not? Hmmm I feel like kissing another girl is bad…..FUCK is this is Total Drama and the Bridgette and Geoff scene >:( damn it!!! (Yes I know that they are 2 different shows but listen……hyperfixation™️ also my mom thought CH was TD lol)

Yay jfk and Harriet told Joan the truth….oh no Joan is going through so many emotions and drinking :0 hmmm 👀 (idk why but the little montage of Joan going rapid through different emotions feels like something bpd???)

Episode 7

Confucius parents took his sister to Bali but not him :( awwww his family didn’t care if he got lost in the dessert. Man Confucius family sucks, no wonder he tried to hard to be popular online, he just wanted attention :(

:( Abe and Joan army friends anymore noooo. Damn. Abe lost Joan and Ghandi, this dude is going through it….

My favorite background clone is Cathrine the Great, I think her design is so cute <3

The bus crash and now JFK brain is bigger….i think you have internal bleeding there bud…

“As a woke straight male ally let me put my lips on this unconscious black women to show how woke and straight I am” ……..topher bud….

Why is George Washtion Clever peanut man getting bigger??

Mr b using a short to cover his head <3

Ew why is jfk vice like that….

“Lo-fi haunted ghost screams” 👀

Smart jfk…Joan taking the lead. I feel like something bad will happen OR this is a dream.

:0 DJ Mr b!!!!!!

Cannibal dessert zombies….. scary!!

JFK calling people darling is cute :) <3

If jfk brain is smarter while in hot weather/if he’s overheating why didn’t this happen when he’s in the gym or doing sports? 👀

Smart jfk face : ☺️🫤

The husbands trying to snort each other 😏👀

Arroyo are gully in southwestern us….meaning the clone home is somewhere between Texas and California….

Joan wants someone who is emotionally intelligent and emotionally available….she and Abe become friends again……I’m guess they’ll end up together?

Episode 8

Oh snap they actually broke up! Also they co-own a tortoise? Cute

..,,,making the whole school sexual……😬 interesting…

“Where do you want the seaman to drop their load”

“For starters in my mouth” HA….🫵🤨 I know what you are doc

Frida having a crush on Cleo! Was not expecting that…Cleo doing her weird flirting again…was DEFINITELY not expecting that….

Harriet x Confucius is a cute ship….their such nerds <3

😬😬😬 the teacher flirting with Abe…:ma’am that not ok

“Virginity is a social construct” asexual Abe real!!!!!!!

I was going to say seaman I love you but I realize that sounds absolutely horrible out of context….

Singing pirates I love you and you talking about lgbt identity..

Topher the pirates thing you’re into Abe….. 👀

JOAN DONT PUT THE TOURTISE IN THE WATER JOAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!! Oh thank goodness Abe rescued the pet

“It’s ok if a minor and a teacher are together” not the fuck it’s not lady!!! Topher why are you filming this???? Call the police????? Topher please 😬😬

Oh thank god she dead. But ahhhhhhhh still hella uncomfortable!!!!!!!!!

The “statutory-rape-death-by-orgasm situation is very troubling” MR B WITH THE FACTS!!!!!!

“So we’re not telling the police?” You can Mr b! Please call the police. Mr b I love you so much for looking out for the students.

Topjer blackmailing Abe because he (topher) is into Joan…..🤨🤨 are you topher?? Are you really??

One one hand, I’m like this is a stupid subplot, Abe just tell Joan how you feel who care about topher and his blackmail. But on the other hand, this situation kind of feels realistic? Like a weird way to talk about victim blaming?

Oh thank god something positive in this shit show….yippie Cleo and Frida got together!!!

Joan underwater with the emotional music…her screaming underwater…..cinema™️ :) Joan and jfk having a nice talk :)…:noooo rip Shelly the tortoise

Background gay couple yay :)

Episode 9

Noooo the husbands are fighting AGAIN….oh yay Joan and Mr b time!!!

Omg Mr b lore!!!!

He has a human twin brother??? HES RELIGIOUS????? Oh snap biracial Mr b 👀

Wait nevermind…. Awww Mr b didn’t know he was a robot :( and nether did his twin

:( noooooooo!!!!!!!! He left his brother 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

OH MY FUCKING GOD Mr b was a sex worker

Noooo Mr b please contact your brother!!!!!

Awew yay Mr b life getting better!!! :0 he got married!!!

Noooo his wife cheated on his and his son wasn’t biological his!!! :(

YES!!!! The twins reunited!!! :0 awew he’s an uncle now!!! Wow 2 nices and 2 nephews!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO HES BROTHER DIED!!!!!!

👀 Mr b was an actor!!!!

🥺 awww he thinks of Joan as his daughter!!!!!!

NO MR B DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!

Oh thank god doc saved him!!!!!!! 🥺

Oh my goddd…..the cliff!!! The choices!!!!!!!

THETE FAMILY AND HE CRIED!!!!

Favorite episode!!!!!!!!

Episode 10

Oh thank god, it’s the last one!!!!

Ponce’s dad is back!!! :)

It’s the last day of the school year…the teens are 16, so there sophomores???

Clone high college :0 oh!!! I was wonder what would happen to the senior class!!

West Dakota?????

Since the sisters didn’t make it into the death maze, do they life? Get immediate killed? I forgot that the government is trying to groom the most successful clones. So I guess this is a survival of the fittest….and since the OG clones were from the first project, this is a very new things. (Trying to make a mental timeline thing.)

The four amgias….

NOOOOO VINCENT DIED (maybe not?)

4 boys who are friends-ish

4 girls who are friends

Battle of the sexist 👀

Also both groups are the main cast….ok not topher he’s more of a side character…but still..

Yay Abe and jfk friendship :)

Ok so this is my 2 favorite episode.

This gives me minor hunger games vibes. The whole government watching kids fight to the death part; not the trying to stop the government and corrupt dystopia part…

Oh hey! That weird one type flute thing, forgot about that! :)

Frida has 2 different shoelaces :)

Joan leaving the group because Frida chose her girlfriend over Joan. I mean, that understanding to be angry, but I don’t think she should leave the group….

Yessss jfk breaking topher phone!! :) now Abe won’t be blackmail anymore!!!

Gay energy jfk x Abe

Lone wolf Joan….hmm maybe she is the most powerful/sussefual clone they made? 👀

Joan setting traps to capture her friends!!!! She IS the most dangerous clone!!!

Ok Joan keeps putting people into holes, either she doing that so she the only one to hit the button and go to college OR she doing that to save everyone from the death maze?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHJHH Joan foster mom standing by Joan, using her daughter and grooming her to be the next leader!!! AHHHHHH I love it!!!!!!! Sidhaisn

!!!!!!!!! Them using the clones as backups!!!! Me think how it was weird that the government would let a clone die so easily!!! They won’t!!!!! The government controlling them to be successful puppets!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! The angst, and tension!!! The betrayal!!!!! Love it!!!!!

👀🥺 doc think of the clones as his children!!!!!!

They lost their memories!!! But Joan giving it back!! Her caring about her friends!!!!

Oh my god the stupid little hands gesture!!!!!! <3

….

That’s it??? THATS the ending? The mother showing everyone what Joan did during the death maze? And everyone being anger at her?

Ok, I feel like the twist to that, if there a season 3 is that her friends will forgive her.

Ok! Thought time!!!!

Ok, the fist half of this so is ROUGH! Like it has an idea (government wanting to groom the kids to be a successful leader) but the comedy and drama got a bit out of hand for the plot. I think want to say around 7-8 is when the show gets more, lore like? Or as close to plot as possible.

This season is VERY Joan centric. It gave her SO much character development. At first I thought it wouldn’t work, it made Joan feel like one of those not like other girls, and loser girl gets popular troupe. The whole love triangle with jfk and Abe was a bit rough. It was weird that Joan decided to be with jfk, after sleeping with him on prom night. But I guess since Abe was with Cleo and Abe only paying attention to Joan after she change herself, it make a TINY bit of scene.

The writing try to make it seems like Joan still loves Abe with that sexual dream she had, but I feel like after that episode, it wasn’t brought up again until episode 7. When Joan wanted jfk to be more emotionally invested in her. Also the whole Abe being in love with Joan? Also the random Abe getting mistreated it felt…..odd?

As for the other characters; out of the OG cast (Abe, ghandi, Joan, Cleo, jfk) only jfk had some character development. At first he was sexual with some emotional intelligence (when he comforts Joan at prom, him and Abe talking in the thinking dock, the whole ponce situation)….in season 2 he was more sexual with some minor emotional scene. I feel like episode 7-10 is were jfk is the most emotionally here.

Cleo….she basically only has 2 episodes for her character development. Episode 4, and Episode 7-8. In episode 4, she gets the crown and gets power hungry, after Joan apologizes to Cleo, she and Joan become friends-ish. In season 1 Cleo and Joan spend a lot of time together, because their parents were dating. They mostly argue but were friends-enemy? So Season 2 feel both a continuation of their season 1 relationship AND just a way to re-write Joan and Cleo relationship.

As for the other episodes? It basically her and Frida because friends to lovers. To be honest while the ship is cute, I wish it was more slow burn?

As for the new clones Harriet and Confusious. I’m mixed. Togher they make a cute couple. But separately I like them more as individuals. Harriet is the most developed out of the 3 new clones. She was awkward and a bit anxious (I think?) around episode 1, then as the show progressed she only hang around Frida, then she became closer friends with Joan. In episode 5 it’s really were Harriet feels the most….developing? She gets angry and worried over feeling Joan about how she feeling about the play! But she expresses herself and that cool!! She also has a weird little friendship with Frida, the 2 of them make a weird little group.

Confusions. At first I didn’t like, he was just a random guy who I hate his outfit. By episode 5, he gets some personal! He wants to have people pay attention to him! And by episode 6- 7, that when you know I bit more about him! He has a rich family who ignores him! His family likes his sister more and seem to emotionally neglect him. He’s a bit lazy and like to go with the flow and not have to work.But besides that…..I can’t think of anything else to say?

Frida. She’s…..there. She hangs out with Abe and Joan and Cleo sometimes. She paints, skateboards, and is the most popular girl in school. Besides that? There not a lot of info about her. It seems like this season had a few too many characters so they made Frida fade into the background…

At first I hate the new Joan new mom. (Candid? I can’t remember her name) I felt like she was a random character that didn’t need to be there. I felt like she was just there to replace the doc and just be annoying? But as the show progressed she was more of a background character that was silly. As for the final; I feel that were she shines the most!! Her wanting her foster daughter to rule the world, that idea is so cool!!!!! I love how she talk to Joan, how proud she was, and how she was going to use the clones as backup or to try to make them more perfect!!! She’s a character a feel like could work If she wasn’t stuck in a comedy.

My b my beloved <3

Topher is a dick. Hate how he blackmails Abe and try to push him and the gross teacher thing. Hate hate the show decided to do that. Like man!! If topper was really into Joan and wanted to blackmail Abe he could have done it a different way!!!!

The humor in this show….don’t feel there? I had like, a few chuckles but that was mostly because from the Doc. Or like from physical gags like the slow float or the couch catching on fire. The animation is fluid and I could see it like, a few times. The colors are a bit brights but I love the background!!! As for the voice acting….its a hit or miss.

5/10

Very Rough start but love the final 3 episodes.

#clone high season 2 #clone high #my thoughts #long post #clone high spoilers #fandom

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meganwhalenturner · 3 years

Text

A Defence of Rubbish

Peter Dickinson

“The danger of living in a golden age of children’s literature is that not enough rubbish is being produced.”

“Nobody who has not spent a whole sunny afternoon under his bed rereading a pile of comics left over from the previous holidays has any real idea of the meaning of intellectual freedom.”

“Nobody who has not written comic strips can really understand the phrase, economy of words. It’s like trying to write Paradise Lost in haiku.”

* * *

The above remarks, and a few more like them, have now haunted me for five years. They were part of a digression in a talk I gave to the 1970 Exeter conference on children’s literature, and if I’d realised then what a powder-keg I was throwing my fag-end of thought into I would have kept my trap shut. I’ve no wish to be type-cast as the man who likes rubbish. On the other hand I did (and do) believe what I said then, and what follows is a more serious attempt to formulate my ideas.

I have always believed that children ought to be allowed to read a certain amount of rubbish. Sometimes quite a high proportion of their reading matter can healthfully consist of things that no sane adult would actually encourage them to read. But I had not, until people started asking me what I really meant, attempted to defend my position or to think it out in any detail.

Definition: by rubbish I mean all forms of reading matter which contain to the adult eye no visible value, either aesthetic or educational.

First, I believe that it is very important that a child, or anybody for that matter, should have a whole culture—at least one whole culture—at her fingertips. We make no objection now to those adults who spent their youth going two or three times a week to the cinema regardless of the merit of the films shown. They have the whole of the Golden Age of the flicks at their fingertips down to the last most trivial B film and it has immensely enriched their lives and their outlook in a way which a diet which consisted solely of plums could not possibly do. Nowadays one can say the same about the pop song culture. There is good stuff on the discs, mixed in with an enormous amount of trash, but both of these are necessary to a child who is taking a serious interest in pop. The child may not realise that the interest is serious but when she grows up she will then find, with luck, that it has been and that she is the better for it. As one teacher expressed it to me at the conference, it is vital that children should have ‘all that stuff churning around in there’, and he rubbed his belly.

Second it is also especially important that a child should belong, and feel that he belongs, to the group of children among whom he finds himself and he should feel that he shares in their culture. Inevitably the group interest will be mostly rubbish. For instance, my son at the moment reads two football comics a week. I love comics, but by the standard of comics these are not much cop. Even so I do not discourage him because this gives him that essential sense of belonging to a group. To remove these comics or to attempt to discourage their reading in any way would be a socially divisive move. A child should feel that he is an individual; but he must not, if possible, feel that he is somehow set apart, especially by family taboos which are not shared by the families of the group to which he belongs. Obviously one can carry this point too far, but in the case of things like football comics I am sure that laissez-faire is the only sensible attitude.

Third I am convinced of the importance of children discovering things for themselves. However tactfully an adult may push them towards discoveries in literature, these do not have quite the treasure trove value of the books picked up wholly by accident. This can only be done by random sampling on the part of the children, and it is inevitable that a high proportion of what they read will be rubbish, by any standard. But in the process they will learn the art of comparison and subconsciously acquire critical standards, so that in the world they are discovering—even the world of football comics—they will begin to work out why one strip is ‘better’ than another and seems more fascinating and is more eagerly looked forward to than another. They may even argue about this with their friends and so make the beginning of an effort at rationalising their appreciation or dislike of cultural objects.

Fourth comes a psychological point. Children have a very varying need of security, but almost all children feel the need of security and reassurance some time. For instance, in those families where boys are sent away to boarding school it is often very noticeable that, in the first week of the holidays, the boys do not read just the books they read last holidays, but books off their younger brothers’ bookshelves. One can often tell how happy or insecure a child is feeling simply by what she is reading. And sometimes she may need to reread something well known but which makes absolutely no intellectual or emotional demand. Rubbish has this negative virtue, and I would be very chary of interfering with a child who felt an obvious need of rubbish.

My fifth point is more nebulous. There is no proof, or even arguing about it. But I am fairly sure in my own mind that a diet of plums is bad for you, and that any rational reading system needs to include a considerable amount of pap or roughage—call it what you will. I know very few adults who do not have some secret cultural vice, and they are all the better for it. I would instantly suspect an adult all of whose cultural activities were high, remote and perfect.

Sixth, it may not be rubbish after all. The adult eye is not necessarily a perfect instrument for discerning certain sorts of values. Elements—and this particularly applies to science fiction—may be so obviously rubbishy that one is tempted to dismiss the whole product as rubbish. But among those elements there may be something new and strange to which one is not accustomed, and which one may not be able to assimilate oneself, as an adult, because of the sheer awfulness of the rest of the stuff; but the innocence—I suppose there is no other word—of the child’s eye can take or leave in a way that I feel an adult cannot, and can acquire valuable stimuli from things which appear otherwise overgrown with a mass of weeds and nonsense.

I am not of course advocating a total lack of censorship. I have no doubt in my own mind that there are certain sorts of reading which are deleterious, and from which a child should be discouraged. Rubbish does not have this quality. It has absolutely no quality. It is neutral.

Nor am I advocating that children should be encouraged to read rubbish. None of the ones I know need much encouragement. All I am asking is that they should not be discouraged from reading it.

The question remains of the children whose diet appears to consist solely of rubbish. Obviously, as far as possible, they should be slightly weaned. But not totally weaned. And besides, if they did not have this diet they would not be reading at all, and in a verbal culture I think it is better that the child should read something than read nothing. And perhaps, long after the child is out of the hands of parents or teacher, the habit of reading—even the habit of reading rubbish—may somehow evoke a tendency to read things which are not rubbish. I know two or three of my contemporaries who were, by cultural standards, total philistines in their boyhood, but they used to read a considerable amount of rubbish and have now, from the habit of reading, become considerably more literate than I.

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whaleofatjme1920 · 2 years

Note

i absolutely LOVE your writing and needed to share.

i’ve been listening to ‘the haunting’ by set it off and good lord is it giving brian vibes. just the idea of him slamming shit while holding reader’s throat saying ‘no one will love you like i did’ and being a jealous ass is oddly hot? strangely? is that anything?

as a formal request i guess it would be brian/hoodie with reader that’s upset you’re not as attached as he is, or obsessive brian?

i love love LOVE your style btw!!! it’s so fluid and well written

Open Flame

[GN!Reader]

[Warnings: BIG TW, abusive, dark content/yandere?, choking, there is no SA in here but it is physically abusive. MINORS DNI]

[AN: hey love bug, thank you so so much! Makes my day <3 you caught me in a decent mood for something outside of hcs. Here's a little,,, scenario thing? For you. It might not,,, be the direction you want but it does have,,, elements of what you asked for.

If anyone acts like this to you in real life, GET OUT. This is abusive and wrong.]

His hand is so tight around your throat, the feeling of thinly veiled warmth covered by a leather glove is searing into your flesh as his hazel eyes bore into you with a deep hatred, you might mistake it for love. "Brian," you choke out, eyes rolling up slightly as he squeezes you like you hardly matter to him.

His boots are crunching over broken glass as he walks you back to the wall, shoving and pushing at your growing limp body. His chest is barely heaving, like he wants to pant but won't. "How dare you?" He asks in a steely tone, seconds from slamming you to the back of the wall.

The scent of vanilla and roses float in the air. They're a cruel reminder of a relationship that could have been with someone gentle and sweet, someone who doesn't question you being out of their sight for more than hour. They were so kind and the butterflies that they made take flight in your stomach were beautiful with gossamer wings. There's candles burning in the windowsill, and you pray Brian hasn't seen them as you know he'd burn the house down with them.

You sputter as he releases the grip on your throat just a bit to let you pathetically argue your case. "We b-broke up years ago!" You cry out as crystalline tears fall down from your puffy eyes. You choke again, coughing and hacking as he steals the breath from your lungs by hitting you hard against the wall. You swear you can feel your brain rattle around in your skull as he shakes you wildly.

His brows furrow and his face contorts to straight rage. His lips are pulled downwards into a scowl. "What on God's green fuckin' earth are you talking about?" He spits as his taller form looms over you. He looks different than the sweet, sunshiny boy you fell in love with in college. He's bigger now, sports a lot more facial hair, the circles under his eyes are decidedly dark, and there's little scars decorating his face, his neck, that must tell a plethora of stories you don't really care to sit down and listen to. "You really want to tell me you went outside of our relationship like that?" He scoffs loudly and looks around the room he's trashed.

The meal you were making for your date is burning in the oven. Glass shattered, the smell of wine soaking the hardwood floors, a higher end brand of perfume and cologne tossed haphazardly to mix with the trash and trace of that person destroyed. Hell, he's put his fists through your wall a few times and he's still gripping onto you like you're going to evaporate into thin air if he isn't there to hold you.

Brian laughs coldly, and you almost feel sick to your stomach to refer to him as such. This is a demon wearing Brian's face, you're sure of it. Your Brian would have never treated you this way. Your Brian accepted your breakup with grace despite his heart shattering into a million tiny pieces. "No, no," he shakes his head before letting go of your throat, watching as you tumble down to the floor and let your knees crash on broken glass.

The feeling of sliced, broken flesh doesn't even register in your head as you attempt in vain to steal back the air he'd taken from you before you screech. "Let me go!" You scream, clawing like a caged, wild animal at his covered forearm. Your scalp is burning in pain as he grabs at your hair and tugs hard, almost like he's trying to take it directly from the root. You briefly catch his gaze and in it, see the flicker of a candle.

'Fuck!' You think as kick at him and use all the strength you can possibly muster to free yourself from his grasp.

Brian isn't giving you the time of day. He roughly hauls you up to your bed and works on tying you up, arms connected to the bedpost but not bothering with your legs. He feels your eyes on him as you thrash about, and almost revels in the way that you panic upon seeing him root around in his pockets for a lighter. He flicks it open, and while that light springs to life, your eyes are almost devoid of it.

He brings the lighter close to the bed, close to you, before you open your mouth once more.

"I'm sorry!" You sob brokenly, still moving away from the open flame but too tired and feeling your body break to fight him. "I'm so sorry."

He doesn't cap the flame but stares at you a moment or so too long. "Do you even know what those words mean?"

#tw #trigger warning #minors dni #hoodie x reader #hoodie headcanons #creepypasta x reader #brian thomas x reader

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foreverindreamlandd · 3 years

Text

To Be Yours: Part 2

Part 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Plus Size!Reader (from my To Be Wanted series)

Summary: Reader has been kidnapped by someone from Bucky's past, and he'll stop at nothing to find you and bring you home safe.

WC: 5.6k

Warnings/Notes: Violence, torture, references to grooming (I think? Just want to be careful with warnings for readers), angst, villain is an OC of mine! (Also this is my first time writing combat so sorry if it's trash LOL).

-----

Three days.

You have been gone for three days.

Bucky has not slept.

He has not eaten.

He cannot think straight.

All he can think about is finding you.

“Do you have anything?” he asks Sam as he storms into his apartment, now a headquarters for his mini team searching for you.

He shakes his head. “Nothing. I’ve checked every piece of camera footage two miles outside her apartment. There’s no sign of her.”

Peter walks into the living room from the kitchen, laptop in hand. “I scanned the handwriting on the note to see if it was picked up anywhere else. Airports, shops, banks. There’s nothing.”

Bucky growls. “There can’t be nothing. She has to be somewhere.”

Sam stands, hands extended to Bucky as if warding off a rabid animal (which wasn’t that far off from the real thing).

“We’re gonna find her, Bucky. I promise. But man, you gotta rest. You’re about to fall over.”

Bucky shakes his head. “We’ve lost too much time. Emilia could be anywhere.”

Emilia Weber.

Turns out he hadn’t been seeing things at the gala. That face that flashed by was indeed the same woman that had now haunted his dreams once more.

You are mine.

Emilia had been the handler of the Winter Soldier since the ‘80s. She was the first face he would see when he woke up, the one to coax him from the ice and into the machine to bring his back into mindless assassin mode. She was the last face he would see when he was put down under.

It was a weird relationship he had with her. She was just as sadistic as the rest of Hydra, more than willing to torture Bucky for decades and decades. But there was something more. She had trained him to find some sort of comfort in her presence. Her touch was never one that brought him pain. No, he would feel the pain immediately after she let go of him, as if training him that her touch would save him from that pain.

My pup.

She grew...obsessive over time. Touches lingered too long. There were moments where just the two of them were in the room, and Bucky was desperate for the pain to go away. The only way he knew to do that was to seek her touch.

She took advantage of that as much as she could.

When Hydra was exposed by Steve, he still felt an uncontrollable tie to Emilia. He wanted to return to her, to find her and know she was okay, but she had disappeared with the rest of the high-level members of Hydra. As time passed, as his head grew more clear, he realized that she was the source of his pain. More than just the physical, but also the emotional. The years and years of abuse. He felt sick whenever he thought of it.

She had always said he was hers. But eventually he escaped that fate. He was free. She was gone.

At least, that’s what he had thought.

No, apparently she was back.

And she had you.

“You said she was at the gala last week? What was she wearing?” Raina and Abby were on Bucky’s couch staring at their own computers, scanning news articles and different social media accounts of people who had attended the gala where Bucky had seen Emilia.

Bucky clenches his eyes shut. “I don’t know. I barely saw her. Maybe red? That was always her favorite color.” He can feel bile rising in his throat.

“Wait! Scroll back,” Raina frantically points to the laptop in Abby’s hand. “Can you zoom in?” Abby presses a few keys and Raina stares for a second before turning the laptop to Bucky. “This her?”

His body goes cold.

The photo is of Bucky and you, posed next to Timothy Dugan. He fights back a sob at the sight of you, the smile on your face, the light in your eyes.

Then he looks behind you.

Hidden in the corner behind a group of people stand a tall, sleek woman with short white hair and ice blue eyes in a blood red dress.

She’s scowling at you.

Bucky nods. “That’s her.”

Raina purses her lips, turning the laptop back to her. “It looks like she’s heading to the bathroom in this photo. The door is right in front of her.”

Abby jumps in her seat. “Oh my god. Y/n. I found her in the bathroom before we left that night. She was by herself, but she was fucking panicked. She jumped as if she was afraid someone was about to attack her when I walked in.”

Bucky’s jaw tightens and he storms over to grab his jacket, gun, and his knives.

“I’ll be back,” he mutters, opening the door of his apartment.

------

Cold.

All you feel is cold.

How is that possible? It’s July.

Your eyes slowly blink open, only to be met with the same darkness you found behind your lids.

Your nose itches and you try to move to scratch it.

Oh. Right.

You couldn’t. Your arms were tied behind your back to the metal chair you had been sitting in for days.

You breathe out what feels like the hundredth sob. It’s one of the only sounds you’ve heard these past few days. That and your screams for help. Your cries as an overwhelming sense of helplessness filled you.

How long has it actually been?

Time has no meaning here.

No. There is just silence and darkness.

Your stomach growls. Another one of the short list of sounds that you had heard since waking up here for the first time. You haven’t eaten since. You were dehydrated. Your head spun from the lack of….everything.

After another hour or so of quietly weeping, you drift off to sleep.

At least, you try to.

As soon as your heartbeat slows down to a certain rate, a jolt of electricity zaps through your body and you scream.

Pain.

All there is is pain.

You gasp when the shock dissipates, pain pulsing through your body.

“I think you’re ready for us to have a chat now.”

You jump at the sudden sound too aggressively that the chair you're tied to loses balance and you slam against the concrete floor, crying out in pain.

A chuckle echoes through the room. “That wasn’t very smart, was it?”

That voice. You know that voice.

It’s the one made of silk from the gala. When you were in the bathroom.

“You.”

“Oh, you remember me? How lovely. It’s nice for you to finally know I exist. I’ve been watching you for some time now. Waiting for this moment. Dreaming of it, actually. To make you pay for all you’ve done.”

“W-what did I do to you?” Your voice comes out in a whimper. You try to move yourself to somehow sit up, but you’re pinned to the ground, trapped in this chair.

The woman speaks in Russian, and you suddenly hear a different set of footsteps coming from behind. Panicking, you frantically move your body to try to get away from the person coming toward you, when suddenly rough hands grab the back of your chair and toss you back upright.

A sudden beam of white light blares into your face and you cry out, shutting your eyes. You feel as if you’re about to pass out.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to see how stupid you’ve been. How could you think that you could have him? He is mine. He always has been.”

Bucky.

She’s with Hydra.

Your eyes flash open and you glare into the dark abyss, rage coursing through your body.

“Whoever you are, whoever you think you are to Bucky, you stay the fuck away from him. He’s not yours. He’s-”

Your words are cut off from your own screams as the electric current runs through your body.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t done speaking,” Emilia said, voice still smooth and calm. “Like I said, the Winter Soldier is mine. I’ve been with him for years, been his savior, his lover, and his protector. He may have lost his way, but he will find his way back to me soon enough. I just need to dispose of any….baggage before then.”

You feel a small, cold hand grab hold of your face, moving it from side to side. You can now see a shadowy outline of the woman holding you captive, but she’s outside of the light just enough so that you still can’t get a good look at her.

“Shouldn’t be that hard. I’m still shocked that he went for someone like you.” The hands release you and you whimper. “Must have been looking for someone more desperate and broken than he was after leaving me. Still...I imagined someone...smaller.”

“Fuck you,” you spit out. “Bucky’s not broken, not anymore. Once he left you and the shit you and Hydra did to him, he finally realized how much better his life could be without you. He’s happier than he’s ever been, because he finally has the love he’s always wanted, always deserved. Not whatever horrible life he had with you.”

She speaks in Russian once again and the large hands from before suddenly grab the back of your chair and you tilt back. You can feel their hot, sticky breath hit your cheeks.

The woman laughs, but now when she speaks, you can hear a crack in her composure. “I will say, you have some bite to you. I can respect that. I can also break that.” She leans forward and kisses your cheek, and you choke out a cry. “When I’m done with you, you’ll never want to look at Bucky Barnes again.”

More shocks through the body.

More cries.

More pain.

-------

Bucky picks the lock and sneaks inside the gala hall, one hand resting on the gun tucked in the back of his jeans.

The hall is dark, save for a few dim lights that are kept on at all times. He does a quick sweep of the entryway, listening for any signs of life. All he can hear are the squeaks of rats in the walls.

“You know, street rats! And not like Aladdin. The giant rodents that lurk in the alley waiting for their next prey. They could get her!”

Bucky blinks back tears as the sudden memory of his first time meeting you flashes through his head. When he saved you from getting hit by a car while you were trying to retrieve Willa.

I’ll save you again, love. I promise.

He cautiously makes his way to the bathroom. It’s pitch plack in there, and he keeps it that way at first as he turns on the flashlight on his phone, scanning every surface for any suspicious obstructions.

He opens each of the stalls, and nothing catches his eye.

Until he gets to the final stall. Over the toilet there’s a sign that reads ‘OUT OF ORDER.’

In the bottom right hand corner is something else though. Written so small it would be easy to miss for most.

Щенок

Pup

He rushes over, lifting the top of the tank. Inside he finds a ziploc bag with a burner phone. He rips the bag open to look at the phone. There’s one number in the contacts.

He calls it.

“Well, I was beginning to think you had lost your touch, pup,” the voice that had haunted his dreams has now returned to his reality, and Bucky wishes he could stick his hand through the phone and rip out the throat of its owner.

“Where is she, Emilia?” Bucky’s voice is venom.

“Who? The girl you tried to replace me with?” She clicks her tongue. “Honestly, James, I know you could never do better than me but I thought you would at least try a little harder-”

“Don’t you dare fucking talk about her like that,” Bucky snaps. “Tell me where she is and I promise your death will be swift.”

Ish. After he let the Winter Soldier side of him come out to play for a bit to make up for all that she had done to him.

“I’ll tell you what, pup. Why don’t you take the next 24 hours to remember your manners, and I’ll let you know where we are. Y/n has a few...parting words for you.”

“Emilia if you kill her-”

“Oh relax. She’s not going to die. As long as you cooperate. But honestly, Bucky, do you really think she’s going to want to stay with you after this? To live in such a dangerous world where the so-called love of her life can’t keep her safe?”

“Bucky don’t listen to her! It’s not true I-”

Bucky almost drops the phone at the sudden sound of your voice screaming in the background. Now, he has no will to fight the tears from falling down his face. All that he can focus on is the screams.

He knew those screams. They were so similar to the ones he cried out for 70 years.

Finally, there is silence.

“Please,” Bucky croaks out, “Don’t hurt her. Just tell me what you want.”

“Oh, pup, you know what I want. I want you, my love. Always you.”

Bucky gives a small nod, knowing that no one can see it.

He had finally been freed, and was now going to willingly go back to his captors.

He would do it for you.

Emilia correctly takes his silence as acceptance.

“24 hours, pup. Hold onto the phone. I’ll tell you where we are.

“Oh, and if you bring the spider and bird boy, she’ll be dead before you even get inside the building.”

The phone goes dead.

Bucky uses his metal arm to punch a hole into the wall, letting out an anguished cry he had been holding the last three days.

Then, he buries his face in his hands and sobs in the dark empty bathroom.

-------

The next 24 hours are spent in and out of consciousness.

The sharp pain from the electric shocks becomes a consistent dull sting.

A voice on repeat in your head.

“He’s mine.”

“He’s not coming for you. He’s coming for me.”

Sometimes, another voice breaks through. Not in the room with you, but a memory.

Being with you feels like breathing for the first time when all my life I’ve been suffocating.

I love you. Forever.

You cling to that voice with every last ounce of strength you had, allowing it to swallow you whole as you drift back into oblivion.

----

Bucky follows Emilia’s demand to not tell the rest of the gang about his contact with her.

Kind of.

Once he returns from the hall, eyes red and jaw clenched so tightly he feels like his teeth are going to shatter from the pressure, he tells them that there was nothing unusual about the place. They all let out a sigh of disappointment, then get back to work to look for more clues.

Seeing them all work so hard to find you makes him want to break down all over again, and he vows that if he survives all of this, he will do whatever he can to protect them all moving forward.

Sam, however, can see right through Bucky’s bullshit. They’ve worked together for too many years for him not to be able to pick up on even the smallest cue from his friend.

Like, when 24 hours have passed and Bucky pulls a phone out of his pocket, Sam sees Bucky’s metal arm clench ever so slightly before he puts the phone back. To everyone else, he looks calm and collected (well, he’s still radiating stress about the whole situation, but no more than usual in a way that would alarm anyone else).

So when Bucky heads over to the door, grabbing his jacket, gun, and knives (his normal carry-ons since you went missing), Sam quietly follows him while Raina, Abby, and Peter are looking at video footage from the gala for the millionth time.

“Going somewhere, Buck?” Sam says softly enough that only Bucky can hear.

Bucky gives a single nod as he pulls on his leather gloves. “Thought I’d grab food for the group. Not sure when the last time we all ate was.” His eyes flash up to Sam’s. “How about barbeque?”

Sam nods, skeptically. “Sounds good.”

“Keep me updated if you find anything.”

“Will do.” Sam pats Bucky on the shoulder. “You do the same, okay?”

Bucky nods, then heads out the door.

------

She was holding you right outside the city, apparently. The GPS on his phone said it would take him an hour to get there on his bike.

He pulls up in 30 minutes to an abandoned industrial park. Concrete buildings as far as the eye can see.

Which fucking building are you in, though?

He starts walking through the park, scanning each building for markers, gun in hand by his side.

He stops short at the fourth building when he sees a red star painted next to the entrance. The symbol that donned his first metal arm.

“Subtle,” he mutters to himself as he slowly walks inside.

The first level is a completely empty room of concrete. All he sees is a door in the back corner 50 feet away.

He heads towards it and opens the door to find a dark stairway heading down.

He descends, lifting his pistol up in front of him, held tightly in both hands.

When he finally makes it to the bottom, he is met with a dark hallway.

There’s the faint sound of a heartbeat, one that was etched inside his brain a year ago.

His pace quickens until he’s in the middle of a room lit up by a single spotlight that is hovering over the person he has been searching for for days. You’re tied to a metal chair, dressed in nothing but the sports bra and shorts you had worn last time he saw you, skin covered in aggravated red marks, head hanging down.

A sob escapes him as he runs to you, relief and dread mixing together throughout his body.

“Y/n,” he whispers, lowering his gun to reach a hand out to you.

Before he can even touch you, a gut-wrenching scream escapes your body as you jolt awake, a shock more powerful than any other one you had felt ripping through your body.

Bucky jerks back as if he’s the cause of it, and the pain stops. You gasp at the sudden sense of relief. He notices a gash on your right brow, and more notably, six small metal squares placed around your forehead down to your temple. You squint your eyes up to see a wide-eyed, ridiculously handsome man who very much resembles your boyfriend.

“Oh, great,” you groan out, “Now I’m hallucinating.” A sarcastic smile spreads across your lips. “At least I get a nice view for the rest of my time here-”

“Y/n, it’s me,” Bucky chokes out, and your brows knit together as you slowly come to.

“Bucky?” Tears well in your eyes and you sit up straight, fighting against the bonds (as you had been the past four days) to reach out to him with no luck.

Bucky’s hands hover over your body, afraid to set off another shock. “It’s me, love, it’s me,” he coaxes. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” He decides to tempt fate and reaches for one of the wires attached to your head.

Lights to the room flash on suddenly and Bucky jumps.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Bucky whips his head around, gun pointed at the one and only Emilia Weber.

She looks exactly the same since he last saw her in D.C., short white hair and an angular face. She’s wearing an all-red pantsuit, standing tall as if royalty, arrogance radiating off of her. A million memories flood through Bucky’s brain in an instant and a shiver travels down his spine.

He shakes it off, eyes burning into Emilia’s as he positions his body to shield you from her.

“Emilia,” he bites out.

She smiles. “It’s good to see you, pup.”

“Gotta say, the feeling is not mutual. I was kind of hoping you were dead or locked away in prison so that I’d never have to see you again.”

“What, and leave you in this world all by yourself? I’d never do that to you, James. You’re mine. I can never let you out of my sight.”

“Stop saying I’m yours,” Bucky screams.

Emilia frowns. “I see we’ve been separated a little too long this time. They said that the trigger words had been wiped from your brain, but I didn’t know you were this bad. I won’t make that mistake again, pup. But don’t worry, we’ll get this...personality issue figured out in no time.” She points to your head. “I’ve got a set of electro-chips with your name on them.”

“He’s not going anywhere with you, bitch,” you shout, and Bucky turns to see you enraged, pulling at your bonds.

Emilia’s gaze flickers to you for a second before returning to Bucky, and she lets out a dramatic sigh. “Ah, so I guess that’s where you got it from. You know what they say, right? Aim for the source.” Her hand reaches up to a red star-shaped pendant on her neck and the room is filled with your screams. Bucky takes a step toward you before Emilia shouts, “Take one step closer and she dies.” A growl escapes from him and he turns, storming over to Emilia, gun aimed at her head. He’s five feet away when he feels a sting on the back of his neck. A dart.

Then, all he feels is a white hot pain searing through his body, and he staggers to a stop. A hand grabs hold of the back of his neck and tosses him 20 feet in the air and he slams into the concrete wall. He groans, looking up from the ground and sees a 6’5 man with long red hair and muscles that would put Thor’s to shame.

“You’re new,” Bucky mumbles out, slowly trying to get up to standing. That effort is waylaid when the big guy storms over and kicks him in the stomach.

Ouch.

Your screams are no longer from the pain of the shocks which have since stopped, but are ones of fear and anger at seeing Bucky being hurt like this.

“Pup, I’d like to introduce you to my new pet,” Emilia walks up beside the redhead and places a hand on his shoulder. “Meet Viktor.”

Bucky gives a sarcastic nod at the big guy. “Viktor. Definitely not a pleasure to meet you.” Viktor stands over Bucky, statuesque. “Not chatty? Gotcha.” Bucky stands up now. “I’m usually the quiet type myself, so I can respect this. I’ll make my words simple.” He points a finger in your direction. “Let her go. Now. Before I rip your vocal cords from your neck and you’ll never have to worry about speaking again.”

Emilia chuckles, stepping back from Viktor. “That’s a nice sentiment, James, but I wouldn’t if I were you. Viktor is….very enhanced and much stronger.”

Bucky grins. “Sure, he may be strong, but can handle a weapon like I can?”

In an instant, Bucky reaches to his waist and pulls a dagger out, throwing it right at Viktor’s chest. It’s so fast that you can’t even see the blade moving.

Not until Viktor catches it by the hilt without blinking, tossing it to the side and Bucky deflates just a bit.

“Damn. Well, okay then.”

He runs towards the redhead before sliding to the ground to avoid the right hook headed straight for his temple, using his left arm to wrap around Viktor’s ankles and forcing him to the ground.

Viktor grunts, moving to stand up right when Bucky jumps to grab him with his vibranium arm once again to fling him towards Emilia. She screams at the sudden impact of her new supersoldier pet and is pushed to the ground, head colliding with concrete.

Bucky uses these precious moments to run over to you, his second blade in hand as he cuts the ropes binding your hands. He moves to the front of the chair to meet you face to face, his eyes pleading as he cuts the ropes around your ankles.

“Are you okay?”

You give him a weak nod, using your now free hands to grab his cheeks and pull his forehead to yours. “Better now that you’re here. Are you okay?”

“Better now that I’m here with you.”

Bucky is ripped away from you immediately after and you scream as Viktor picks him up by the throat, and Bucky is dangling in the air, hands gripping against Viktors to try to break free.

You hear a groan and move your gaze to Emilia, now shuffling to a standing position. Her nose is bleeding and she has a crazed look in her eye.

You run over to her, winding your right arm back and swinging it forward, making contact with her cheekbone. Emilia’s head whips to the side from the blow and she falls back to the ground. Even under the current circumstances, a small smile forms on your mouth after finally punching someone that wasn’t a super soldier and actually had a reaction when your fist met their face.

Emilia is no stranger to combat though, so as soon as she’s down, she quickly slides her leg around and into your ankles, catching you off guard and causing you to fall on your back by her side.

The wind is momentarily knocked out of you and Emilia uses the time to climb on top of you, hands wrapping around your neck. You scratch at her hands, gasping for air but her hold is so tight you can’t break free.

“Your weight is your strength, Y/n.”

The memory of Bucky’s words brings you back to training. You’ve done this before. You can do it again.

Though Emilia is on top of you, she is still smaller than you. Lighter than you. You move your hands from Emilia’s and arch your back up, legs moving closer to you as you lift her up in the air, throwing her balance off just enough so that when you thrust your left hip over, she slides just a bit towards the ground. Her hold around your neck loosens just a bit.

It’s all you need.

Your left arm grabs hold of her shoulder as you push yourself forward and up as Emilia goes down, and suddenly your positions are switched. You’re on top of her now.

From the corner of your eyes, you see the knife that Viktor tossed aside only two feet away from you. You quickly lean forward and grab it, then press the blade against Emilia’s neck. She’s gasping for air, your body crushing her ribs and her lungs as you focus to push all of your weight against her.

“You’ve said a lot of shit about my weight these past few days, lady,” you pant out, “And now I realize it’s because you can’t handle it like Bucky can.” You smirk, pushing the blade closer to her neck and Emilia winces. “So why don’t you let us both go, and we won’t have to have a problem anymore. Unless you decide to try to do anything to Bucky. In which case, I’ll make sure you never have the opportunity to get anywhere near him again-”

Before you can finish, Emilia’s hand has rushed to her pendant and that familiar unforgiving pain rushes to your brain and your hands move to your head. In your weakened state, she’s able to shove you off of her and she moves to stand over your body, now curled into a ball from the pain.

“Y/n!” Bucky croaks out, still trying to break free from Viktor’s grasp. His vision is growing blurry at the lack of oxygen.

Emilia clicks her tongue, hand resting on the red star. “You can try to break free all you want, my dear, but I’ll always have a hold on you as long as I have this-”

White string shoots out and latches onto the pendant, and Emilia gasps as it is ripped off of her neck.

You turn to see a familiar red and blue suit running toward you and you let out a sigh of relief that sounds more like a sob.

Bucky is too distracted by Parker’s entrance to notice a circular shield slam into Viktor’s side, knocking him back to the ground and freeing Bucky from suffocation.

“Took you long enough,” Bucky coughs out, gasping for air as Sam runs to retrieve the shield.

“You’re welcome, Bucko. Now are you going to let me have all the fun or do you want to maybe be helpful for a change?” Sam uses the shield to uppercut Viktor as he tries to stand, causing him to fall towards Bucky who then socks him with his vibranium arm.

Emilia, eyes wide and face red with rage, pulls out a 9mm from inside her blazer and shoots at Peter. He deflects it with no issues, and jumps around Emilia while shooting out webbing from his wrist as he constrains her.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Peter says as he walks up to her, “but this is for hurting my friend.” His pointer finger slightly pushes Emilia and she stumbles, falling to the ground. He then runs over to you, gingerly pulling off each of the metal chips attached to your head.

“Pe-,” you pause, realizing you probably shouldn’t say his name, “How did you find us?”

“Funny story about that, Y/n,” Peter says as he pulls the chips off. “Sam and Bucky have this weird secret code they use if someone is in danger. So I guess Bucky wasn’t allowed to say that he found you and instead he told Sam that he was going to ‘get barbeque’ which is their code for-”

You whip your head to Bucky and Sam. “Barbeque? That’s your top secret code for danger?”

Sam has his wings out now, and he’s suspended in the air with Viktor in a chokehold as Bucky jumps up, slamming his fist into the redhead’s face. “Hey!” Bucky yells back at you, jumping off Viktor’s shoulders to grab the shield from Sam’s back, doing a ridiculously cool front flip before landing on his feet. “It’s been an inside joke for years! We would never dream of getting barbecue anywhere other than Louisiana!” He runs over and slams the shield into Viktor’s face, blood spewing out of his mouth.

“It was A.J.’s idea!” Sam calls out. “He was all excited about it, we couldn’t say no!”

“Hey, web boy,” Bucky yells, “Can you help us with this guy?”

Peter jumps over, covering Viktor in webbing. It takes three times the amount than Emilia’s, but soon enough he’s on the ground, jerking his body around but unable to move any of his limbs.

Bucky turns and runs to you, hands gently resting to your arms, eyes piercing yours.

“Are you okay?” he asks frantically.

You nod, smiling through tears. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

Bucky lets out a cry of relief, forehead resting to yours, breathing heavily as if he’s never known the taste of fresh air before this moment. “I didn’t know if we were too late. I didn’t know if you were okay. I’m so sorry-”

“Hey.” You take his face in both your hands, pulling him away so that you can look into his tear-filled eyes. “Do not apologize. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

He nods, then pulls you in to press his lips to yours and you let out a whimper at the feeling of it.

“No,” Emilia yells, still on the ground. “I will not let this happen, pup. You are mine. This ugly nobody will never deserve you.”

Bucky’s lips pull away from yours and you are met with a raging storm of blue. His head pivots to face Emilia, and he lets go of you to walk over to her.

He only speaks once he’s hovering over the white-haired woman, crouching down to her.

“I’m going to say one more thing, Emilia, and then you will never hear my voice again.” His voice is soft, yet there is anger coating each word. “I never was yours. Whatever you thought we had was something I was forced into. Had I ever been given a choice, I would have stayed far away from you. I choose to do that now, for the rest of my life. Instead, I choose her,” he points a metal finger at you, eyes glancing your way before locking back into Emilia’s. “She is the fucking light of my life, the ray of sunshine that pulled me out of the darkness you and the rest of Hydra dragged me into. For the rest of my life, I choose her. I am hers.”

Emilia’s scream echoes throughout the whole building.

“Fine,” she barks out, spit flying from her mouth. “If I can’t have you willingly, I guess I’ll have to make you suffer for it.”

She looks to you with a sly grin.

“воздушная волна.”

You gasp, hands wrapping around your throat as all the air leaves your lungs in an instant.

Bucky runs back and grabs hold of you, eyes wide. “Love?” He shakes you. “What’s wrong?”

You cough, eyes bulging as they look into Bucky’s.

Can’t breathe you try to say, but no words come out of your mouth.

The world spins.

“Y/n. Stay with me. Stay with me!”

Darkness pulls you under as you feel yourself being lifted from the ground and into the arms of your beloved.

-----

Next part

Thanks for reading! To check out how these two knuckleheads got together, check out my original series, To Be Wanted! :)

Taglist: @w0nderw0man91 @nessie2183 @carrotfantasimp @dexter99 @fairytalebucky @toothhurtyam @eclipses-and-moondust @blackwidownat2814 @prettybubblesintheair @last-humanity

#bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x you #bucky barnes #marvel #mcu #james bucky barnes #plus size #plus size!reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x plus size!reader #bucky x plus size reader #to be wanted

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mionemymind · 3 years

Text

Chapter 3: The Harsh Treatment

Fake Memories

Series Summary: After Y/n is caught cheating on Wanda with Carol, Y/n would do just about anything to get Wanda back into her life. But was it even Y/n’s fault that she cheated? Or was it the new enemy set on revenge?

Chapter Summary: What will happen to Y/n as the team pushes her past her limits?

A/n: I lied, I decided to be nice and post it now. Honestly, the amount of support that I’m receiving from this fanfic has literally made me smile so much. I really love all of you who read and/or comment. You mean the world to me. Let me know what you think. :) (Not my GIF)

Warnings: Starvation, harmful thoughts, curse words, self-doubt, mentions of blood, injuries, angst

Word Count: 5k

Masterlist

Y/n abruptly woke up at the feeling of pressurized gas coursing through her body. She quickly sat up, unable to see anything in the white fog. The cold feeling only lasted a couple seconds before F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Fire has been contained.” Y/n hugged herself for warmth as she waited for the fog to disappear. This was the 13th time this month that she was woken up with pressurized gas. At first, it was foam but someone in maintenance had changed the system after the 5th time she woke up.

Y/n looked at her surroundings and sighed at the damages to her sheets. There were burn marks along with small amounts of frostbite from the gas. “At this rate, I won’t have money for food.” With a grim face, Y/n got up from her bed and proceeded with taking everything off her bed, a routine she unfortunately started to learn.

Y/n didn’t know when things got worse. If she had to guess, maybe it was after the whole fiasco with Wanda. The team had been on edge ever since then. “They probably thought I hurt her,” Y/n thought at the time, but it was far from the truth. She had wanted to explain herself to the team but dismissed those thoughts with, “What’s the point in trying? I’ll always be guilty to them.”

As for Wanda, the still heartbroken girl didn’t dare to speak to the team about that night. Even she didn’t quite know what happened. Since that night, she only lied to herself stating that maybe Y/n had done something. It would probably remove the guilt she had when she thought of the blood running down Y/n’s face. But even the lie couldn’t repress the truth from her thoughts.

After she collected her bedding, she threw it away in the trash can along with the other damaged beddings. Y/n grabbed her wallet off her night stand and opened it. She couldn’t feel it, but her heart dropped at the sight of the lack of money she had. Only a $20 dollar bill as well as a couple ones were left. She closed her eyes and tried her best to keep herself calm, to try and act like the world wasn’t closing in on her. It was a couple minutes later when she opened her eyes and looked at her wallet again. “This was supposed to last me for the rest of the month.” Y/n rubbed her forehead, feeling the overwhelming stress from her lack of funds.

One might ask, “Aren’t you an Avenger? Shouldn’t you make a shit ton of money.” And at one point, Y/n would say yes, she did. But it all came back to that night. A week after, she had overheard a conversation that went…

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to her.” Y/n was about to go around the corner, but decided to wait at the sound of Steve’s voice. “It’s simple Rodgers - unless I have to remind you why we needed to redo the glass in the conference room.” Steve sighed at Tony’s simple minded actions. Y/n could practically feel him crossing his arms in a disapproving manner.

“Well she did work fair and hard for her money Tony - this just feels wrong.” Y/n heard a couple clicks before Tony replied with, “This is for Wanda. Anything to get Y/n out of here by her own means is worth it. If you have a problem with this, you must not care as much for Wanda as I thought.” Steve sighed again seeing as he was morally put in an awkward position. It was either care for Y/n or care for Wanda. “That’s what I thought.” Tony left with a smug look on his face as he clicked more on the screen in front of him.

It didn’t take long for Y/n to see the effects of Tony’s decision. Her pay day was the following day and the overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety rose up within her as she only had $400 to survive until the next pay day, which was a month later. Since then, her food portions have been small to say the least. Y/n learned that she only had enough money for the month to eat at least once a day and even that was cutting it. The dramatic changes to her diet had slowly affected her powers but it recently had an exponential increase.

This was her fourth month of hardly eating when her powers started to flare at night. It has gotten to the point that Y/n couldn’t control them in her sleep leading to F.R.I.D.A.Y having to deal with her fireside. But her powers weren’t the only thing that has changed. If anyone were to actually look, they would see that Y/n had gotten skinnier. Her literal glow was getting duller and duller the more time passed.

However, Y/n refused to feel sorry for herself. The sentence “I deserve this” was burned into her head. The brain tricks she puts herself through even allowed her to convince that Tony's decision was right. That Wanda didn’t need to tell the truth to the team. That Steve didn’t need to defend her. And that the team certainly was allowed to make her feel like nothing. Because to Y/n, if she didn’t deserve this, then why would you possibly treat a person like this? Just why?

Of course, Wanda didn’t notice these changes at all. The girl was trying her best to avoid Y/n as much as possible. She always had exit strategies in place in case she were to be in the same vicinity as Y/n. However, Wanda also didn’t notice that lack of Y/n’s presence. Much to her dismay, Y/n’s efforts were the reason they didn’t see each other much.

What Wanda did notice though was the slow and gradual decline of snacks in her cubby. It left her to question whether Natasha was done doing these small favors for her. But her reports were still getting done.

The red head didn’t have much room to think though as she got slammed down on the mat from the other red head. “Take a ten - you’re distracted and we can’t keep going like this.” Wanda grumbled at another failed attempt to flip Natasha over. Hand to hand combat was one of the few subjects that Wanda hated the most. With the help of Natasha, Wanda got up and walked over to the waters on the other side of the room. She was gulping down the remaining when Natasha’s words caught her off guard. “What happened?”

Wanda cocked an eyebrow while still drinking her bottle, needing more elaboration. Natasha faced Wanda while hundreds of thoughts racked her mind. Luckily for her, Wanda had trained her on how to make them quiet enough that Wanda wouldn’t be able to hear. When Natasha found the right words, she said, “I am not doubting you. I am doubting her…” Wanda closed the bottle and looked around the room to avoid Natasha’s eyes. This had been the first time that anyone from the team had remotely even asked her about that night. To be frank, she hadn’t expected Natasha to be the one to break the ice. Usually it was Steve that would act like the team’s counselor. Guess things change.

Wanda sighed and recollected her memory for the night that continued to haunt her. “One minute, I left to get a drink from the bar. - she said that she needed to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I come back to see her all over blondie.” Wanda’s grip on the bottle tightened at the words she was going to say next. “I thought it was a mistake - that she could have been too drunk that night - b-but her thoughts were so - loud.” Wanda slammed her fist at the table in front of her, tears already falling down her cheeks. “A-a-and I saw everything-”

The broken hearted girl didn’t have much energy left in her to continue. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. Natasha kneeled beside Wanda. She pulled the poor girl into her arms, trying her best to physically comfort her. But nothing could really make Wanda feel better. What could you say to a girl that saw every moment where her girlfriend has cheated on her? Nothing - you say nothing.

“It’s quite pathetic actually,” Tony said as he spun the rod, causing his player to score in foosball. He was currently versing Steve as the two decided to quietly speak about Y/n’s actions for the past couple weeks. Going on the defense again, Steve shot back but Tony was quick to block. “She’s probably just trying to get her money back.” Steve huffed from the sudden slap shot as well as Tony’s rude words.

For the past couple weeks, Y/n had gone from trying to win Wanda back to trying to win the whole team back. The first thing they noticed was all the completed mission reports and the continuation of it. Clint was the first to jokingly comment, “Bruce must really love mission reports.” But the genius bore a confused look before replying with, “It wasn’t me. Even I haven’t had anything to do in my stack for a couple days.” Bruce had a displeasured look on his face. Clint just assumed it was either he wanted to do his stack of reports or the comment was actually true...or maybe both.

When it was time for the meeting, Clint had asked everyone in the room, minus Y/n, on who was completing the mission reports for everyone. “Well, I’m doing Wanda’s and mine,” Natasha claimed as she sat in her usual spot. No one was able to detect her lie, but then again, Natasha was always good at lying.

Clint was quick to figure out that the only person remaining must have been the person responsible. With a straight forward voice, he explained to the team that Y/n had been completing everyones, besides Wanda’s and Natasha’s, reports. Still, Natasha sat there, copying the confused looks on everyone’s faces. She didn’t care to tell them the truth, it wasn’t worth it. However, the meeting proceeded with little comment on Y/n’s actions. She wasn’t worth the mention.

“What if she actually is trying to say sorry to us?” Steve couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for Y/n, but Tony’s words made the guilt go all away. “Oh - so miss Hydra over here actually wants to apologize - hilarious Steve.” With that, Tony quickly spun the rod and scored the final point, making him win the game. What the two failed to realize was the fact that Y/n had overheard their conversation. She no longer felt hungry for the day and had retreated back to her room, feeling overwhelmingly numb from the confession she heard.

It was a new and different day for Wanda. She had managed to want to try and sit in the common room with her team seeing as sitting in her room no longer gave her the same satisfaction anymore. Scrolling through the tv, she was about to pull up Bewitched when the following words appeared on the screen:

Bewitched is longer provided on Netflix. Please see related tv shows.

“What do you mean it’s no longer available?” Wanda frustratedly questioned. And here she was trying to have a good day. “Sorry kid, I guess Netflix took it off their streaming service,” Clint said as he leaned over the couch. “No why would they do that?!” Wanda said with an exasperated look. Clint simply shrugged, Netflix did have an awful reputation for getting favorites removed or canceled. “No clue, but you could try other shows.” Wanda crossed her arms and huffed at his suggestion. “I was really feeling Bewitched today.” Ruffling her hair, Clint left after saying, “Try to feel for something else.”

However, Wanda had failed to feel anything but angry for the remaining of the day. It wasn’t until she sat in her room for the night, aimlessly finding shows in her room when she noticed Bewitched on her home screen. She quickly clicked on it noticing that all eight seasons are there for her own viewing. Her mood immensely increased for the night as she fell asleep in the middle of season two.

Outside of her room, Y/n had been cleaning up the compound for the night. It was getting harder and harder to clean the kitchen when everything in her wanted to just take a couple of snacks for herself. Her hunger was constantly on her mind as well as the stupid flashes that have sporadically appeared more and more everyday. But she wanted more than anything to prove to the team that she is a good person. Stealing, no matter how minor, was probably the last thing she needed to be labeled as.

When she completed for the night, she returned to her room but paused outside of her door when she heard the Bewitched theme song loudly play in Wanda’s room. A small smile appeared on her face as she walked back into her room and slept on the floor tonight.

“Did it ever occur to you that I love you - like a lot?” The couple were laying in Carol’s room decorated with punk rock posters and pictures of their team. Small plants were placed around the room while Malcolm in the Middle was used as background noise.

“Nah. I haven’t heard you say it in approximately - 10 minutes?” Carol laughed as Y/n glanced at her watch. They laid on their sides as they faced each other, their faces being only inches away. “Well I do.” Carol cupped Y/n’s cheek as she soon grew mesmerized.

There are words to always describe feelings with someone but they all felt overused or incomplete. Because everything felt like this daydream colored borders with warm tones and retro filters as she glanced at Y/n. She felt like she was watching a show that she would never get tired of. Even if the show was in color or black and white, new or old, slow or fast, she would watch just to see her. Just her.

“You do what?” Carol flicked Y/n’s forehead at her response. “Kidding - kidding.” Y/n said as she rubbed her forehead. Carol rolled her eyes and kissed Y/n’s head as she cuddled into her arms, legs tangled within the sheets. “I do love you.” Y/n kissed her hair as she combed it with her hand. “I know,” she whispered, hoping Carol would pick up on the secret reference. Because to Y/n, yeah, she’s worth a whole galaxy.

It was the middle of the night when Steve woke up from a nightmare that shook him from his slumber. Rather than staying in bed to force himself to sleep, he got up and headed to the kitchen for a late night snack.

Heading into the pantry, Steve pursed his lips noticing that Y/n’s cubby had been empty for weeks it seems like. The guilt that was slowly forming inside him kept building and building. Although he knew he could try to do something about it, the loyalty he had to his family - to Wanda. That was something he didn’t want to break.

The relationship with Wanda and Steve was something similar to a father and daughter relationship. Steve had always wanted a kid of his own and Wanda had lost her father. The irony of it all just happened to work for the two. Even though Wanda nor Steve would admit it out loud, they viewed each other as the roles that needed to be filled in their lives. They needed each other regardless of titles.

But then there was Y/n. The troubled girl that made Steve absolutely nervous with how quick her and Wanda seemed to like each other. It absolutely didn’t help Steve’s case when the whole team found out about Y/n’s past. His anxiety had practically skyrocketed. It eventually led to a one on one talk with Wanda about how sometimes we need to protect ourselves before letting people in.

But Y/n was still there. Breaking down Wanda’s walls. So just like any Dad would, Steve watched over. Making sure his girl was always happy and safe. So while Natasha may have refilled Wanda’ cubby and did her reports, Steve had carried Wanda to bed during nights she couldn’t sleep. He made her tea for times that she didn’t want to talk, which was often. He tucked her in at night and cuddled with her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He was just there.

But so was she. She was there whenever Wanda cried at night. She was there when Wanda would sometimes forget to eat after busying herself all day. She was there to take care of Wanda. She was there when Steve wasn’t. And that meant everything to Steve. So why couldn’t Steve be there for Y/n?

There were a lot of unanswered questions roaming around Steve’s head. Rather than pondering more about them, he walked around the tower, eating a pack of cookies for himself. Just as he was turning the corner, he glanced towards the conference room to see Wanda asleep in front of her reports. However, the more alarming part was the girl that happened to be right in front of Wanda. Steve quickly grew on high alert and observed Y/n’s actions. However, after a couple minutes of harmless actions, Steve forced his shoulders to relax. “She’s just doing reports - calm down,” Steve thought.

But he couldn’t calm down. The guilt had maneuvered it’s way back up to his throat as he actually noticed the pale state of the once bright girl. For someone that had literal fire abilities, she lacked the glow of any raging fire. Feeling nothing but guilt all over, Steve felt compelled to say something - anything. But he froze. He didn’t know what to say.

However, the opportunity soon was lost as Y/n finished everyone’s stack of reports. Steve hid around the corner as Y/n passed him. Hearing a door close was when Steve stepped out of hiding. He glanced towards the direction of Y/n’s room, feeling every need to go to her. But his footsteps led him to Wanda. He picked her up and carried her to her room. Wanda will always be first in Steve’s heart. And nothing could change that.

“We have to stop this treatment Tony.” Steve waltzed into Tony’s lab the very next day. For once, he couldn’t sleep for the remainder of the night. Y/n was all over his mind. The guilt was practically eating him alive.

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve’s dramatic fashion for entrances. “Oh - good morning Tony - how are you - I’m actually pretty good.” Steve rolled his eyes as he stood in front of Tony, a hologram in between the two.

“Cut the crap Tony - I’m being serious.” Steve crossed his arms. This needed to end. “And you think I’m not Rodgers?” Tony was quick to respond, already growing irritated by the conversation.

“This isn’t right - none of this right.” Steve wiped the hologram to finally get a clear view of Tony as he grew frustrated by the second. Tony simply swiped it back, not wanting to deal with the issue. “Well maybe if she just quit - we wouldn’t need to worry about anything. It’s not my fault Fury hired Ms. Hydra - and if he finds out I fired her, he would not allow it at all.”

“But can’t you see that your stupid plan isn’t working? All we’re doing is abusing the girl.” Steve wiped the hologram again but Tony simply walked to a different station and continued his work. Angry with his response, Steve walked around the table and stood beside Tony.

“This needs to end Tony,” Steve said through his gritted teeth. The man was clenching his jaw so hard, it almost looked as if he was going to break his teeth. However, Tony quickly glared at Steve at the mention of his threat.

“Don’t you fucking dare. Can’t you actually see that I’m trying to protect Wanda.” Steve tilted his head at the awful reasoning for his actions. “How is this protecting Wanda? Why are you even trying to protect her?”

Tony slammed his fist into the table, feeling his anger rising by the second. “We - no - I need to protect her Steve!”

“Why Tony? Why?”

“Because I’m the goddamn reason her parents and her country is dead. I’m the reason that everything she ever loved is gone. I’m the reason for her sadness. She, of all people, deserves happiness. And I sure as hell won’t let anyone else hurt her anymore - no more Steve.” Tony didn’t give Steve a chance as he walked out the facility needing a day drink more than ever.

It was lunch time and all Wanda could think about was the need to cook paprikash. She didn’t know when the last time she had actually cooked. And seeing as the majority of the team was on missions, she could actually cook without interruptions or lingering eyes.

Walking into the kitchen, Wanda tied her hair up and started to take out the necessary ingredients for the meal. It was when she was talking the spices out when Vision had appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring the girl. “Vision!”

Sensing a slight rise in her heart rate and anger, Vision had quickly apologized. “Sorry Wanda.” Wanda shook her head and quickly resumed prepping. “I will try to work on making my presence known. If I may ask, what is it that you’re doing?”

“I’m making paprikash.” Vision’s mind grew curious at the word and quickly searched his database for it. “I see. A traditional Sokovian food.” Wanda didn’t realize it, but she had felt a little annoyed at the synthezoid’s presence. It wasn’t anything he did, but Wanda desperately wanted alone time for herself.

Before she could ask, Vision had said, “Good morning Y/n.” Wanda’s quickly grew wide as she avoided glancing in Y/n’s direction. She hadn’t stayed in the tense position though as Vision announced, “Oh - it seems she had left before saying hi back.”

Feeling ever more frustrated with people’s presence, Wanda was about to ask him to leave but noticed the confusion written all over his face and didn’t hesitate to ask, “What is it Vision?” Vision pursed his lips and contemplated his words. It was visibly obvious to see that he was trying to wrack up what to say. “I think...it’s just…” He sighed knowing that this was going to be a sensitive subject to the witch but knowing everything she's been through, lying was not the best option. “It’s just that Y/n-” Wanda quickly cut Vision off in desperation to know what Y/n had done to Vision. If the girl were to even lay a finger on him, she was sure to deal with it herself. “What did she do? Did she hurt you? I swear-” Seeing her eyes turn red, Vision immediately explained himself. “-No no no. It’s not that, the complete opposite actually.” Wanda’s eyes slowly turned back to normal. When Vision saw that her heart rate was close to normal, he continued. “It’s just that...Y/n’s vitals have been decreasing in a fluctuating matter. Some days it would be a small decrease, but some days it would be a big decrease. Overall, her health has been poor.” Vision looked back at where Y/n once stood. If he hadn’t quickly analyzed her, he wouldn’t have noticed that today’s vitals was record worst. “Although she does have physical injuries, she seems to continue to radiate pain throughout her body even when those injuries have healed. It starts through her head and it spreads like a radio wave through her nervous system. I’ve done my calculations and the leading cause could be migraines...” Vision soon was in deep thought, trying to recalculate just to make sure what he was about to say was correct. “...but it doesn’t make sense.”

Wanda tilted her head. Processing this information was hard seeing as at her darkest moments, she wanted nothing but Y/n to be hurt. She deserved it for all the pain she caused her to go through. But hearing it now? That was a different story. It was like an internal conflict was going through her. Should she even care about Y/n’s health? “What doesn’t make sense?” Vision looked hard into Wanda’s eyes as he said, “Migraines shouldn’t cause her heart to stop multiple times.”

Wanda stared at Vision, processing the information that the love of her life is practically dying. “A-are you sure?” Vision slowly nodded. “However, after some calculations, I do believe she will be okay. She only needs a good source of food for her healing regeneration to fully heal this.” Wanda relaxed at Vision’s words. Although she has been through immense pain through these past couple months, having Y/n gone from her life like that would hurt more than anything.

Before Vision could continue his explanation, F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Emergency alert. All available Avengers please head to the quinjet per the request of Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers.” Quickly, the two headed to the plane as the important part of Vision’s explanation was missed. Little did Wanda know, Y/n would not heal any time soon.

The trio arrived on the quinjet and wasted no time trying to figure out the mission that was ahead of them. There was a serious feel in the atmosphere sensing that this had to be bad. There was no way that it couldn’t have been. Because if it wasn’t, they certainly wouldn’t have invited Y/n to this mission.

Lately, the girl has been assigned to only solo missions. Y/n couldn’t quite remember the last time that she was on a mission with any team member nevermind the fact with the whole team.

“Backup is needed immediately after touch down. Vision and Wanda, meet up with Steve and Sam at the Northeast corridor. Y/n, you are assigned to the entrance,” Tony stated through the intercom.

The feeling in Y/n’s stomach worsened. Not only was she hungry and sleep deprived, she didn’t also have a partner with her. It also didn’t help the fact that the flashes have gotten worse. Y/n couldn’t help but pray for a miracle. After all, they were dealing with the very people Y/n hated - Hydra.

Y/n couldn’t quite tell when things on the mission got to shit. Maybe it was the fact that as soon as they touched down and went to their assigned positions, Y/n received a massive swarm of Hydra agents. It didn’t help that her health regeneration was not at its peak or these agents actually were decently trained. Or was it during the third wave, that was currently happening, where Y/n tested the limits of her body.

Seeing the onslaught of agents coming her way, Y/n decided it was time to test out her new ability. She rapidly swung her right arm, building momentum as the fire within her right side blazed. As soon as the enemies were close, she released a fire tornado in their path. It had managed to take out at least half of the wave, but more and more kept coming.

Pressing her comms, Y/n said, “Can someone send back up my way?! There’s too many for me to handle.” Y/n kicked back the agent that was about to stab her in the back, but was too distracted to the point a different agent was able to cut her leg. “Fuck.”

Y/n quickly released an ice wall that at first glance, appeared to be the same height as the Great Wall of China. She hoped the barrier would give her enough time for her backup to appear. Focusing all her energy on her fireside, Y/n aimed at any agent near her, using her arm as a flamethrower.

However, worry immediately grew when no one had responded to her call within a couple minutes. Before she could request again, Nat had spoken bitterly in the comms, “On my way.” Sighing in relief, Y/n continued to fight off the agents the best she could.

But no matter how hard she tried to buy herself time, it seemed that Natasha was taking forever to come. It had gotten to the point that multiple lashes already appeared. Her healing regeneration couldn’t keep up at all. Not only that, but her body was either giving up from exhaustion or blood loss. It was only during the last couple agents when Natasha had shown up and quickly killed the remainder.

Y/n glanced at the assassin and noticed the lack of any injuries on her and it was as if she barely broke a sweat. “What happened? I almost got killed.”

Natasha glared at Y/n as she responded with, “I helped Bucky and Rhodey on the way, they needed it.” Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat knowing the redhead in front of her had practically lied. If backup was needed, it was always voiced through comms.

Even if Y/n had wanted to confront Natasha about it, she couldn’t. Natasha had already left to head to the quinjet. Y/n simply limped a couple feet from her. When Y/n arrived, it seemed that everyone else was already prepared for take off. Feeling ever more guilty, Y/n simply sat at the closet seat to the entrance that was away from the team. But something inside her broke even more noticing the lack of any questions or concerns from the team in regards to her injuries.

Not even bothering to buckle up, Y/n sulked in her thoughts when she realized, “Why doesn’t anyone care about me?”

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#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #fake memories

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ladyelissarose · 2 years

Text

Warnings: mentions of past traumatic events, panic attacks, lots of angst in this one, things just fall apart sometimes.

”The Secrets of Gotham-Unmasked”

Chp.26

Batman’s POV

After hearing the news from Gordon it crushed Batman’s heart to know that they had come to a decision to ‘bury her’ and completely make her dead to the city. With Gordon’s words running through his mind it began to make him think that she was actually dead, that him bringing her back to life was all just a dream in his head,

‘Why does it sound like it’s true.. like if she’s actually dead and not around.. did I save her? Wait.. no my mind is playing tricks on me I know I saved her.. and she’s safe.. yeah, she has to be, but she was so cold, blue, limp in my arms... oh God.’

He had held some hope that there would be a chance to get Maroni’s business down forever, but now there was no way as it seemed. All he wanted to do was go and make sure his haunting thoughts weren’t true, he wanted to crawl into Y/n’s arms and relish in her comfort, he had to remind himself that she wasn’t dead or drowned at the bottom of the river, that night still terrified him sometimes. So once he left the signal he planned to go with Y/n instead of home, the night was almost over anyways, and Y/b/n should be safe at the Manor by now. So he sent Alfred a quick message stating that he’d be at the safe house soon, so that for him to stay with Y/b/n at the Manor through the night.

Alfred’s POV

Upon receiving the message time hit ‘2:37’ as Alfred checked his ticking watch, sighing he contemplated with Saunders,

“I think we have to call it a night.. Bruce just gave me a heads up that he’s coming to check up on her right now-“

“You see that’s the thing I don’t understand Al, why doesn’t he just stay the entire night? What does he do during that time when he’s not here?”

“Don’t ask me... Master Bruce is always doing his own things that I don’t get into.. all I know is his schedule. And she needs to be here before he arrives, and I need to go to the Manor to make sure it’s in tact while he’s gone.”

“Very well Al, let me let this kid know,”

Turning on the mic Saunders called out to Y/n,

“Hey kid it’s time to clock out, it’s almost 3 and your boyfriend will be here soon. Tomorrow you can try again,”

He could hear Y/n sighing frustratedly as she said,

‘This dumbass didn’t even show up.. I wonder why.. everyone else was here. But yeah, I’m definitely coming back tomorrow. Or until he shows up, all the guys there seemed pretty desperate as they awaited his arrival which never came, I think they’re planning something big, but they said they would only talk it through until Mackenzie showed up.’

“Damn it, all those guys usually have something big planned out, who’s knows what’s up with that crackhead, just come home please, take a taxi and get dropped off at least a couple of blocks away remember?”

‘Yeah I remember Uncle, I’m already heading out the door.’

“Good, I’ll see you soon.”

Y/n’s POV

Y/n could feel the wad of cash she was carrying in her bag from the tips she got, but she refused to keep any of the money, so turning the corner of the building she saw a homeless man going through the trash for food,

‘He could use some cash.’

“Sir? Here,take this.”

Looking up at her with fear that she was probably a burglar or something he tried to cower away, but when he saw her gleaming eyes and soft smile with the cash in her hands, he approached her slowly as he heard Y/n explain,

“Get yourself something to eat yeah? Have a good night.”

Without saying a word he took the money and stuffed it in his jacket and sent her a curt nod of appreciation, she smiled at him one more time before calling out of the taxi that was passing by.

Getting into the taxi Y/n made her way home in a few minutes, after tipping the taxi she got off of it and waited for it to leave before she made a beeline to the safe house on her heels.

Alfred’s POV

Alfred was standing by the door waiting for Y/n to come closer, he then opened the door for her and let her in,

“Get in the shower immediately you smell like that place.”

“Right.”

But before she could run he grabbed her wrist,

“Wait but before you go, where did you leave the money you got?”

“I gave it to a homeless person, I didn’t keep any of it.”

‘Oh... that’s better than what I thought.’

Showing his proudness for her good deed Alfred said,

“That’s very good, I’m sure he needed it, listen put everything in its place and put some cream on that back of yours dear, please.”

“I will Alfred, I’m still disappointed that I got nothing-“

Saunders entered the conversation as he put forth,

“Y/n/n it took your father and I a long while to get as close as we got, just take it a day at a time and get used to your surroundings as you go too. You did well

though, I promise. At least you know something is up, now go do what Alfred told you to do,”

“Of course,”

Giving Alfred an embrace she bid him goodbye,

“See you later Alfred, thank you again, Goodnight.”

“Goodnight dear,”

Y/n’s POV

After 20 minutes Y/n heard a door open from the outside of her restroom who’s door was slightly opened, she stood outside of her shower drying off,

‘That must be Bruce.. at least I put everything away first before getting in.. if not that’d be a disaster.’

“baby?”

Hearing Bruce’s soft little voice call out to her made Y/n’s heart swoon,

“I’m in the restroom baby, I’m coming out of the shower-“

Peering his head through the half closed door Bruce pouted,

“I was hoping you’d wait for me.. I didn’t take one-“

‘Aw my sweet baby...’

“Well come in, I haven’t gotten dressed yet, I can shower again with you.”

Opening the door wide to let himself in he closed it and began to undress,

“thanks baby... why aren’t you asleep and showering at 3 anyways?”

“Just couldn’t sleep and felt like taking one, I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”

“I wasn’t but I changed my mind, I wanted to see you.”

Seeing his eyes drop more than usual made Y/n see something that was bothering him, placing his face in her palms she asked him sweetly,

“Are you ok?”

“Hmm hmm.. let’s get in.”

As they led each other into the shower that was when Bruce saw the large bruise on Y/n’s back, he spun her to face him as he questioned with worry,

“Y/n what happened to your back, this looks fresh?”

‘Oh shit.. forgot about that.’

“I fell earlier today on the stairs, and my back landed on the steps, but I’ll be ok-“

“Are you sure, it looks.. bad.”

“I’ll be fine baby, believe me, and I promise to be more careful.”

Y/n batted her eyes at him hoping her story was believable, which it was when he didn’t push it any further,

“Ok... come on.”

Once in Y/n turned the bar up to start letting out the warm water. Bruce wrapped his arms around Y/n while resting his cheek against her temple. Letting the water run over them Y/n began to relax and relished the feeling of his bare wet skin against hers.

Y/n then asked,

“Do you want me to wash your hair now or not yet?”

Bruce moves his head and let his eyes connect with hers as he shook his head no, he kept his gaze on Y/n pretty steadily as if trying to convince himself that she was actually there with him, and soon his baby blues began to water, she could tell as his eyes turned red quickly and his lip quivered,

‘oh no baby don’t cry..’

“oh honey don’t cry, what’s the matter?”

Refusing to talk he pulled her in for a deep harsh kiss, his breathing grew rapid as his hands touched her all over, trying to convince himself even more that she was real under his hands, that she was really warm and not blue and cold, that the water that was covering them was warm and in her home and not the freezing water at the river, that the purpose of his lips on hers weren’t for CPR or to help her back to life but because he was demonstrating his love through a kiss. The sounds he made during the kiss could’ve been mistaken for soft groans but Y/n identified them as crying whimpers that were leaving his lips. Y/n immediately caught on to what was going on, as she heard him grow more desperate trying to catch his breath,

‘he’s having a panic attack!’

Separating herself from him she grabbed his face and made him face her to pay attention,

“Talk to me baby what’s going on?”

Shaking his head no he grabbed her hips and tried to pull her flush against him, as he choked on air trying to compose his haunting thoughts, but she stood her ground and called for him,

“Bruce, baby, breathe, I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. Ok? Look at me, I’m alive and with you-“

“No, they said you’re dead and gone a-and that they’re having your funeral.”

“Bruce-“

“They’ve made it official with the feds Y-Y/n, you can’t come back-“

“Thats not true and it doesn’t matter-“

“But I watched you die-“

“And you watched me come back to life Bruce... I’m alive, I’m not at the river, we’re not there right now, give me your hands.”

Shaking tremendously Bruce gave his hands to Y/n and she placed them on her bare chest, right over her beating heart.

“Baby, can you feel that?”

“yeah.. yeah I can.”

“Ok... and what does that tell you?”

“t-that.. that you’re ok?”

“yes baby, I’m ok.. I’m ok.”

Bruce’s POV

‘She’s ok.. she’s breathing.. this isn’t a dream it’s real. Y/n’s real, the warm water is real.. just cause she’s dead to the city it doesn’t mean that she’s really dead, she’s safe in my arms.. and alive. Ok Bruce.. it’s ok.. breathe..’

“ok.. I think I’m ok now.. I’m sorry-“

“Bruce never be sorry, that’s what I’m here for, to catch you and remind you that we’re going to be ok, no matter what’s going on outside these walls ok?”

“ok.. thank you.”

Bending down to catch her in a softer kiss Bruce could feel her wrap her arms around his neck as she smiled through the kiss. Breaking the kiss Y/n pecked his nose and began to wash him down completely, from head to toe, whispering sweet nothings in his ear or on every fading bruise she passed by while cleaning him thoroughly.

Y/n’s POV

Sense she had already showered she wasn’t going to do her own, so soon they were wrapped in warm soft towels standing in Y/n’s bedroom as she searched through her drawers to pull out Bruce’s boxers, she was going to give them each jumpers for the night but Bruce protested with his small voice,

“Can we just sleep like this.. l-like- like”

‘He needs sense of touch.’

“Do you want me in just my panties and you in your boxers?”

Shaking his head shyly he signaled yes, his cheeks burned a light pink shade at the thought of how sensitive he was being. For Gods sake he was Vengeance and the freaking Batman, as well as the Prince of Gotham, someone who was unapproachable and insensitive as hell according to outsiders, but here with Y/n, he was melting and dying to be on her skin and feel her warm breath touch his skin, making him feel loved and safe to be just himself, which only she could do that.

Tangling their legs together under the covers Bruce was facing Y/n as they laid on their sides, but putting Bruce in his favorite place, Y/n made sure to rest his head on her bare chest, so that her calm beating heart could lure him to sleep.

He had wrapped his arms tightly around Y/n pulling her impossibly close, but soon as his body drifted to sleep, Y/n could feel his arms loosen slightly, until his body went limp and soft snores began to come out of his pretty lips.

Y/b/n’s POV

He had just gotten out of the shower and walked downstairs when Alfred came into appearance greeting him,

“Jason.”

“You can call me Y/b/n... I mean either is fine.”

“Alright then Y/b/n, how was your first night with Bruce?”

Sitting down at the kitchen table accepting the bowl of fruit Alfred had prepared for him Y/b/n answered,

“It went alright, he asked me to look around within the outskirts of Gotham... he said he’s looking for lost information?”

Alfred adjusted his glasses as he sat there confused,

“What information? Did he tell you specifically?”

“He actually did, he said it’s was something about our father, for the case he was working on. But we came out dry we couldn’t find anything anywhere.”

“Hm... maybe in the morning I’ll speak with him and help you two out.”

“Sounds productive, thanks.”

“Of course,”

Alfred’s POV

After finishing his fruit Alfred and Y/b/n walked together up the stairs into their rooms, but that’s when Y/b/n noticed the opened door leading to a room that looked different, it caught his attention.

“Um, Alfred?”

“Yes Y/b/n.”

Pointing to the room as he walked to it he asked,

“You all have guests? Or did I miss something?”

‘Oh that’s Danny’s room.. oh should I tell him-‘

“Looks like a kids room.. what is this Alfred?”

Turning to look at him directly Alfred said honestly,

“Bruce and Y/n are planning to adopt Danny.”

Alfred watched Y/b/n’s jaw drop with a hint of hurt in his eyes, lowering his gaze to the floor Y/b/n said,

“You all were just going to replace me huh?”

‘Oh no, never.’

Placing his hand on Y/b/n’s shoulder Alfred corrected,

“Y/b/n we could never replace you-“

“Then why are you guys planning on bringing Danny in? Was it because you thought I died and needed to fill the gap?”

“No Y/b/n, your sister saw that Danny needed a home, and she knew he would stay with her, only because he knew her the most, they’ve had a connection sense the beginning-“

“Danny already had a home at the shelter, she didn’t need to bring him in.”

“It’s called mercy Y/b/n.”

Looking up at Alfred as he dropped his hand off his shoulder Y/b/n said coldly,

“I knew I was right, I could never be accepted again, for the new me-“

“Y/b/n stop-“

“No Alfred! She wants to adopt him because it reminds her of innocence, happiness, a new, fresh beginning, if I ever come back into the picture it will only bring back bad memories and pain, because that’s all I ever caused. I can’t be here if you’re planning on keeping him-“

Alfred stood firmly as he spoke,

“Y/b/n you are more than welcome to stay, we promised we could help you-“

“I don’t want your help, I’m a lost cause and it’s clear to me that you all have moved on, or are working to move on, when I still can’t. I’m still stuck in the daze of wanting to kill the people that have hurt me-“

By this point rage grew in Y/b/n’s eyes as he began to step closer to Alfred huffing his anger out through his words as he continued,

“They broke me more than anything in this world, they took away my life and who I was. Beating me and drilling into my head that I was nothing and a whole other person, a monster-“

Alfred had begun to take small steps back as Y/b/n got closer and closer,

“Alfred I don’t fit here. I’ve tried to, you know be different, change a little, but its all too soon, I’m not finished yet. I’m not a hero or a anything like that, I’m a murderer, I’m broken and lost, all I crave to do is ruin the lives of every single person that ruined mine. Trying to become better isn’t going to change anything, what’s happened happened, and there’s no going back. I know you love me and want to help me, but I don’t need your help, because I don’t deserve it-“

Finally coming face to face with him Alfred could see the forming tears of anger in Y/b/n’s eyes as he lastly said,

“Goodbye Alfred.”

He took off his watch and comms and began to walk down the stairs, Alfred ran to the top of the stairs attempting to go after him, but Y/b/n stopped him as he was midway down,

“Don’t Alfred.. it’s over. I only wouldn’t be hurting Y/n or you and Bruce more, but it’d hurt Danny to know that I’m alive and what I’ve become, I can’t let him see me like this. He looked up to me because he saw that I was good, and I’m not good anymore.”

And with that Y/b/n left through the front door with the promise of never returning. Leaving Alfred at the verge of tears. Alfred thought Y/b/n would be happy, thinking maybe it would help him out with composing himself again, but instead he took it the wrong way.

‘Now what are we going to do... he’s gone, and might go back to his old ways.. we never replaced him.. we just wanted the family to grow, we wanted to give Danny a home. When is this all going to be better.. will it ever get better?’

RedHood’s POV

Walking away from the Manor RedHood put on his mask as anger and sadness raged and boiled his blood, he slightly felt bad for Alfred, he knew that Alfred had good intentions, but his mind and heart went against his sister once again,

‘Of course she would replace me...she can’t lie to me. I’ll never be her son again, or ‘their’ son, why ‘their’ son though? Is Bruce marrying her? That doesn’t matter anymore, all I know is that I really fucking hate myself.. I just wish it was all gone or that it had never happened, but they are really going to see what kind of person they made out of me.. who’s the real Jason Todd, the RedHood..just watch.’

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raymondebidochonlifechoices · 3 years

Text

To summarise:

Balls be balls, but there’s a crucial difference between a writer that has cojones and a show that is bollocks.

Apparently, Glen forgot to notify the FBI that Betty quit. Betty receives her diploma via post. Which is fitting, because I can only surmise that this is how she got her training too.

Now that there are no more serial killers in The Town Formerly Known As Riverdale, the F.B.I. decides to reopen their bureau there. It figures.

Riverdale’s Feminist Icon Veronica Lodge once again fails to pass the Bechdel test.

Since not one (Archie) but two (Jughead) white male protagonists have come to terms with their trauma on-screen, Betty pulls herself together off-screen.

Or does she? She joins Archie for some day drinking. Alcohol is, objectively, the only way b*rchie can happen.

Veronica is no longer the She-Wolf but the Black Widow of Wall Street. One would have thought that this kind of level-up in ruthlessness would be in her favour but not according to these writers.

Waldo is still on a mission to be a principal in a High School that offers only extra-curriculars: he re-hires Jughead to supervise the Blue and Gold.

Since no one is teaching at RHS anymore, Britta decides to break some rocks in Cheryl’s mines to keep in shape for football next season.

To show her appreciation, Cheryl drags Britta to her ex-teacher’s graduation party where all her other ex-teachers are. Awkward.

Frank and Alice being the only older adults left in Riverdale, hook up. After 5x18 uncle Frank is what Alice deserves.

On their first date at Vitto Alto’s old haunt, Jabitha decide to move in together to save up on rent. The level of romance is killing me.

This is the third time Archie’s new dog makes an appearance. Where’s Hot Dog, bitch?

With Veronica and Eric out of Archie’s life, Hiram tries to rekindle the embers of their relationship. Literally.

On his orders, a Ghoulie starts a fire at Pop’s. The damages are minimal but somehow the effects are devastating.

Sheriff Keller, who was once the mayor’s lapdog, who -in turn- was once in Hiram’s pocket, sits and nods sagely as Toni threatens bodily harm to a suspect and Archie proposes an arrest without evidence. Consistency.

Guidance counselor Toni extracts a Ghoulie’s tooth and with it the truth. Never trust a therapist in Riverdale.

Reggie ex Machina provides a usb stick with irrefutable proof of Hiram’s crimes. Unfortunately, he’s a secondary character, so there’s not enough time to explain how he got it.

Lollipop! Lollipop! Oh Lolli Lolli Lolli! Lollipop! The Chordettes are not back but The Trash Bag Killer is! After having graciously waited for Betty to catch her other serial killer, he’s now ready to rumble. Oh, yes, congratulations for her graduation too. This better be Hal Cooper with half a metallic head or else.

Adult Jughead is the same awkward teenager we all know and love. Boy can’t initiate a normal kiss to save his life. Not without social activism and arson beforehand. He’s weird. He’s a weirdo.

Queen Serpent Toni has an epiphany: what if they take the Serpents off the roads and back into Riverdale and find them a gig that pays just as well as truck driving? 10 bucks says that job is bouncers for Veggie’s new Casino.

Tangs aka Only Serpents Left Alive. Can you really blame Jughead for making fun of them in his book?

“I blame Archie” says Hiram. And my new T-Shirt.

Kevin takes his remaining kidney to Broadway.

This is Nana Rose’s season, gather around children.

Abigail Blossom, Cheryl’s ancestor (but not the one that slaughtered the Uktenas) was burned to the stake for witchcraft in 1890 because the townspeople wanted to steal her palladium mines. Abigail cursed them all.

I’m here for Jedediah Jones and Jedediah Jones only.

Cheryl doesn’t think that a curse that eradicated a whole generation of male Riverdale citizens is enough compensation and asks the core four to make amends to her personally. Veronica, Archie, Betty and Jughead, who have not spent the last 10 years with Jason’s corpse can’t fathom why they should live in the past.

Pop pops back in Riverdale but Tabitha’s parents don’t. Is it possible that the only reason for their existence was so that she could sing with Jughead in 5x18?

After unilaterally naming Riverdale’s four council members, Archie makes a talk about inclusiveness. All 10 paid extras agree.

Nana Rose heard that Veggie are together and has Cheryl speak the curse.

A Casino would turn Riverdale into a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah, exclaims Acid Queen Alice, miffed that she wasn’t once invited to teenage Veronica’s speakeasy.

Archie has been sexless for one day, so he proposes to Betty to give their relationship another go.

H is for Hero. “Tic Tic Boom!” says Hiram, who has placed a bomb underneath Archie’s bed. Legends only.

Toffee is back in Riverdale. She’s freed all the dogs from Archie’s yard and has set headquarters in Dilton’s bunker. From there She. Will. Lead. The Resistance!

No more nonsense, only curses now!

This exquisite Toffee header (or is it footer?) is brought to you by the incomparable @50shades-of-bughead, who was also kind enough to draw Toffee Leading The Resistance aka Barracks!Toffee. I’m in awe of your talent! Do you hear the people sing?

#Riverdale season 5 #s5 recaps #Toffee fanart #decy_fanarts

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 years

Photo

Ivan Ehlers, The New Yorker: Meanwhile, in Judge Cannon's Courtroom

[Scott Horton]

* * * *

Judge Cannon did everyone a favor. :: September 7, 2022

Robert B. Hubbell

In one respect, Judge Aileen Cannon did everyone a favor in her decision to appoint a special master to review the Mar-a-Lago search. She wrote an opinion so awful and bereft of legal reasoning that commentators on all sides of the political spectrum are panning the opinion as an abomination. Indeed, they are falling over themselves to find adjectives, comparisons, and metaphors that adequately describe the havoc of her decision. Here is a fair sampling:

Her decision is utterly lawless [and] she disgraced her position as an Article III judge. [Laurence Tribe @tribelaw.]

[H]er order in this case is nonsense. [Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse]

[A] trainwreck of judicial reasoning. [Ian Millhiser, Vox]

[L]awless partisan hackery. [Dahlia Lithwick, Mark Joseph Stern, Slate]

[U]ntethered to the law. [Andrew Weissman, The Atlantic]

[A] political conclusion in search of a legal rationale. [Jessica Levinson, MSNBC]

[D]eeply problematic. [Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., a Harvard Law School]

[L]aughably bad. [Samuel W. Buell, a Duke University law professor]

And then there is Bill Barr, a man who destroyed his legacy to support Trump. Here is what Bill Barr told Trump’s supporters during an appearance on Fox News:

The opinion, I think, was wrong, and I think the government should appeal it. It’s deeply flawed in a number of ways.

[T]he government has very strong evidence of what it really needs to determine whether charges are appropriate . . . there’s some evidence to suggest that they were deceived.

[N]one of [the government’s case] really relates to the content of documents. It relates to the fact that there were documents [at Mar-a-Lago] and the fact that they were classified and the fact that they were subpoenaed and never delivered.

My point is not to trash Judge Cannon’s integrity, intelligence, or fairness. She has already done so beyond my meager ability to add to the opprobrium already heaped upon her. Rather, the point is that Judge Cannon now understands she is universally regarded as the most incompetent, biased, and clueless federal district judge in the nation—and that is saying something!

How Judge Cannon responds to that stomach-churning realization is what matters. Will Judge Cannon attempt to undo her grotesque error by revising her order? Will she reject efforts by Trump’s team to exploit the legal gruel disguised as analysis in her opinion? Or will she redouble her efforts to serve as Trump’s surrogate defense counsel from her position on the bench in the Southern District of Florida?

The next few days will provide much more information about Judge Cannon’s intentions. I infer (read: speculate) that she is in legal waters way above her head and tried to kludge a remedy unsupported by the law. The result is a Frankenstein’s monster that will haunt her for the remainder of her career. Her decision is already being cited as “The Loose Cannon Rule,” under which criminal defendants can seek a stay of federal criminal proceedings whenever evidence is seized under a search warrant.

The DOJ has many paths forward, most of which are legally complicated and equally unsatisfactory. But as Bill Barr also noted in his comments to Fox News, the decision is more like a “rain delay.” One of the most likely steps is for Merrick Garland to proceed with the special master process and appeal the order staying the investigation—which is a constitutional insult of the highest order.

In her order, Judge Cannon has told the Article II branch of the government that it may not perform the duties granted to it by the Constitution. As Neal Katyal noted yesterday on MSNBC, none of his first-year law students at Georgetown would suggest such an outlandish and unsupported violation of separation of powers. Although the University of Michigan Law School is not the guarantor of the future performance of its graduates, the faculty at the U.Mich.Law should be revising their syllabi to add a few extra sessions on separation of powers—not to mention a deep dive into US v. Nixon. And judicial ethics. And legal research. And common sense.

In the end, Judge Cannon’s decision is so bad it cannot stand. The DOJ will find a way to circumvent the worst parts of her ruling. Trump stole classified documents, concealed them, lied about it, and refused to return them after being served with a grand jury subpoena. He is in deep trouble. If past is prologue, Trump will make his predicament worse by uttering new lies and issuing new admissions.

#Scott Horton #The Federalist Society #Ivan Ehlers #The New Yorker #Judge Cannon #justice #Rule of Law #Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

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maddiwrites · 3 years

Text

The Hybrid (I)

Pairing: JJ x Reader

Summary: The Pogues rekindle their friendship with their old childhood best friend and JJ’s first crush, Y/N. Old feelings resurface for JJ and Y/N, possibly leading to a summer neither one of them could ever forget. Due to past trauma, Y/N is reluctant to let anyone into her heart, but JJ never backs down from a challenge, even if he knows it will come back to haunt him in the end.

Note: Thank you for being patient with me as I slowly write this series. I had this idea a long time ago and I’m not finding motivation to write it but the inspiration comes and go. I smile with every comment that is left on my fics and I’m so grateful for this community. Thank you for letting me pursue my creative writing without judgement. Love you guys! (Also, yes. If you didn’t see my last note, I based YN’s family off of the Gilmore Girls characters. That’s who I picture as them.)

Word Count: 8k

Masterlist Prologue

You wake up to someone falling on your bed next to you with a dramatic sigh. Knowing exactly who it is, you choose to ignore her and try getting back to the dreamless sleep you were peacefully having before you woke up.

That is, until she sighs again.

You flip onto your back and stare up at your ceiling fan that’s quickly spinning above you. “What, Rory?”

“How did it go with Andre and that boy?”

You look at her with one brow raised. “You woke me up to hear about Andre’s love life? That hardly sounds like you. You don’t care about high school drama or hookups.”

“You’re right,” Rory says. “But I thought I would ease you into what I actually need to tell you.”

You turn on right side and look at your sister confused. “What?”

She sighs. “The cafe’s basement flooded last night. Mom needs us there to help her clean up and take inventory on what’s salvageable.”

You turn back on you backside and close your eyes, exhaling a deep sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Unfortunately not,” Rory says and pats you twice on your covered thigh as she sits up. “Come on. I made you pre-cafe coffee. It’s sitting in the kitchen.”

You throw your sheets off of you and trudge to the bathroom to brush your teeth and clean your face. It’s about 8 a.m. At least you were able to get about six hours of sleep.

Last night, it was hard to let your brain rest to fall asleep. You kept tossing and turning, thinking about the blonde Pogue who walked you home. You missed how easy it was to talk to someone who you felt truly knew you. Your banter rolled off your tongue easily and you never had to worry about offending him because you knew him like the back of your hand. You knew what he could take and what he couldn't.

Talking to him brought back childhood memories you had hidden deep in your mind. How JJ would constantly poke you until you ripped into a smile on days that were grey. How you used to steal John B’s bandanas until he was chasing you around his house to get them back. How you would draw a mustache and a unibrow on Pope’s face when he fell asleep by the water.

Those days felt like they were decades ago. So far away, you didn’t know if you’d be able to reach for them again. If it was even possible to get back.

You thought about texting him. Thanks for walking me back. We should all get together soon! You had written out. But then you deleted the whole message, telling yourself it was because you didn’t know if he even had the same number. But deep down, you were just afraid of the rejection.

Its been about three years since the four of you had been together in one place. You don’t know what they’ve been through or if they’ve changed. They for sure as hell don’t know what you’ve been through. You don’t know if they're dynamic has changed. Clearly you and JJ can still joke with each other but what about John B and Pope? You heard about John B’s father disappearing at sea, most people believing he’s dead, but John B holding onto hope that’s he’s alive. You always thought about calling him to reach out and offer your condolences. But for the same reason you didn’t text JJ, you never called. It didn’t feel like your place. They had Kie for that now. A little part of you felt jealous of her, like she had replaced you and any memory of you. She seemed nice, but she wasn’t you.

“Ready?” Rory pops her head in to your room as you slip on a cropped plain white zip up jacket over your cropped black tank.

“As I’ll ever be,” You say and snag the car keys out of her hands. “Don’t even think about it. I’m driving.”

Rory rolls her eyes. “I want to get there safely.”

“And I want to get there quickly.”

“Fine. But we’re taking my car. It actually has doors.”

For your sixteenth birthday, your grandparents gifted both you and Rory your own individual cars and even let you pick them out. Rory chose a black 2020 Honda Civic for it’s safety features and reputation for longevity as if she was planning on handing it down to her future kids. And you picked out a white 2020 Jeep Wrangler with a hard top that pops off along with the doors for a very open and thrilling ride. Everyone but you called it a death trap, but you found it to be the perfect summer car.

You park Rory’s boring Honda Civic in the back of the cafe in a lot used specifically for employees. The cafe is already booming with teens and families, waiting for their morning coffees and fresh pastries. Kids your age are running around behind the counter with sweat dripping down their brow bone to get everyone’s orders out in a timely manner.

In the back of the store, your mom walks up the steps from the basement with two large trash bags and immediately notices the two of you. “Oh good. You’re here. Rory, help the girls behind the counter. The dishwasher’s broken and poor Hailey is hand washing everything. Y/N, come with me downstairs.”

“Why does Rory get the fun job?” You grumble and follow your mom back downstairs after she tosses the two trash bags.

“Because she’s actually nice to the customers.”

“Treat others how you would like to be treated. Isn’t that what everyone always says?” You smirk. You never agreed with the phrase ‘the customer is always right.’ It’s complete bullshit and being the employee shouldn’t mean letting yourself getting verbally abused by a ‘Karen’ on the other side of the counter.

The basement is used for the cafe’s storage, lined with wooden shelves Steve put together that hold to go cups, back up espresso machines, boxes of coffee and food and ingredients, etc. Now all the boxes are dark and sopping, creating puddles on the concrete floor.

“Oh my god. Mom. How did this happen?”

“Jenky water pipe busted in the middle of the night,” Steve walks down the stairs and passes your mom a knowing look. It didn’t surprise you that he was here. He’s the jack of all trades. Owns his own automotive shop, builds a lot of his own furniture, actually cooks a decent meal, and has the same outlook on customer service as you do. He was probably your mom’s first call. “Talked to the plumber. They can’t get here until at least noon.”

“Noon? We’ll be underwater by noon. I might as well turn all my employees into a swim team,” Your mom says.

Steve shakes his head. “I was able to hold the leak until he gets here. You should be fine.”

Steve was the first person that actually helped your mother out when's she moved to the Cut. Six months pregnant, she pushed her car into his automotive shop after it broke down on the side of the road. Their banter was similar to the one you and JJ have. He helped save your mom money by building yours and Rory’s cribs, changing table, and dressers. And ever since, the two of them had been connected by the hip, although they both refuse to admit it. You think the pair are just trying to deny the love they clearly share for each other. And you think the main reason for that is because of the incident four years ago with your mom’s ex boyfriend. No thanks to you.

“Look at you constantly building your resume,” You smirk at him.

Steve scoffs. “It’s more than what you’re doing.”

You roll your eyes. Steve is the closest thing you have to a father. He practically helped raise you with your mom. He’s the one you turn to whenever a fight with your mom goes too far, which isn't too often but it happens. He usually lets you stay at his house for the night to let you cool off. But he’ll never sugar coat his advice when it comes time for him to give it. Even if you don’t ask for it. He knows growing up with Rory has been challenging. She was clearly your mom’s favorite, or at least that’s what you thought. She has a 4.0 GPA with a realistic dream to get into Brown University and study journalism. She played by every rule, never got into trouble, and spent most of her free nights getting ahead of her school work or staying late at the cafe with an open book from the library across the street. She was an absolute angel to everyone else, making you look like her evil twin.

You glare at him before turning to your mom with crossed arms. “What do you want me to do, Mom?”

“Actually honey. Can you go to Heywards and grab more coffee filters and napkins. The water soaked right through the plastic wrapping on our last box.”

You nod, leaving your mom and Steve to clean up the basement themselves. Before heading out, you sneak behind the counter and make yourself a quick coffee to go.

“Where you going?” Rory asks as she reaches behind you to grab a banana for her customer at the register.

“Heywards to grab a couple things for Mom.”

“Oh. Make sure to grab toilet paper while you’re out. I think we’re almost out of it.”

“Got it.”

Heywards is only a short drive from your mom’s cafe. It’s the closest convenient store that isn’t crazy pricey. It’s where your mom gets all her supplies whenever she runs out of things before shipment gets there.

You use to always come here when you were younger with the boys, each of you, even Pope, stealing a small bag of chips or a candy bar here and there. Little did any of you know, Mr. Heyward caught your thieving hands every time but never said anything.

The bell above the door chimes when you walk into the store. You know this place as well as you know the cafe, finding the toilet paper and coffee filter immediately.

When Mr. Heyward looks up from the counter, his smile grows. He can pick you out of a crowd anywhere, but he hasn’t seen you in a long time. Last time he saw you, you had braces and overgrown bushy brows. Now you had bushed hair and shaved legs.

“Hi. Mr. Heyward,” You grin shyly at him. You don’t know how he’s going to react to see you, unsure of what Pope might have told him about you.

“Little Miss Y/L/N? Is that you?” Heyward smiles widely, pulling your own lips into a wider smile. “I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy with school and my mom’s cafe...” Both of those things were a lie. You just avoid the Cut to avoid the Pogues.

“How’s the fam?”

“They’re good,” You say as Heyward hands you your bags. “Mom says hello by the way. I’m actually taking these to her store now.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger. We miss your smiling face around her. Anette, too.” Heyward says, mentioning his wife.

“Tell her I said hi.”

“Of course, darling.”

Heyward and Anette always had a special place in their heart for you and Rory. They’re not one for gossip, but they knew a little bit about what your mom’s been through and have heard plenty of stories about your grandparents. They always thought, despite your mom’s background, that you and your sister were raised impressively. Anette always hoped that one day Pope and Rory would get together. Everyone always wanted their child to be with Rory.

As your about to leave the store, the bell chimes again with another customer. Only it’s not another customer. It’s Pope and John B. They don’t see you at first, and you wonder if maybe you can sneak out without them seeing you. But something about that felt wrong. Especially because Heyward would more than likely mention to them that you were here.

Pope sees you first and stops in his tracks. “Y/N?”

“Hey, guys. Long time no see,” You smile at both of them. You bite down on your lip awkwardly when you meet John B’s stare. You don’t know if you should mention anything about his dad’s disappearance. But what would you say? Sorry? What good would that do?

“How’ve you been?” Pope gives you a small side hug, then John B.

You shrug. “You know, living the dream.”

“How’s life as a Hybrid?” John B smirks.

You roll your eyes playfully and groan. “Oh god. Never call me that again.”

You may be considered a Hybrid by everyone else, but you would never put yourself into that category. You grew up a Pogue, the same way everyone else did around you. The only thing tying you to the Kooks are your grandparents.

“Why?” John B smirks. “I wish I was a Hybrid.”

You smirk back. “Maybe you will be one day. I hear you have a Kook of your own for arm candy.”

You saw a faint hint of blush on John B’s cheek at the mention of his girlfriend but you don’t mention it. “Sarah, yeah. She’s not like the other Kooks.”

“I would hope not. Her brother’s a dick.”

“Yeah,” They laugh.

“We miss you, you know.” John B says. Pope looks at you, trying to read your expression. John B’s not wrong. They do all miss you, especially Pope. He felt like you were the only one who really understood him. Of course his other friends are great, but you actually took the time to try and understand his passions. Like forensic science.

“I miss you guys too. It’s been a while.”

“Well, hey. We’re actually all getting together tonight at my place. Nothing big. Just a bonfire and a couple beers. You should stop by,” John B says.

“Yeah,” Pope says, immediately getting hopeful that you’ll show up.

Your smile falters. The invite makes your heart swell and your lungs contract. It’s an invite you’ve been wanting for three years. And now that you have it, you don’t know what to say. It’d be different if it was just the four of you like old times. But now there’s Kie and Sarah and although you have nothing against them, you’re afraid they won’t accept you. The thought of your boys picking them over you terrifies you.

“Okay. Yeah, sure. I’ll try to swing by later.”

Pope smiles wide and looks at his friend to see his reaction. John B grins and nods, almost impressed that you had agreed. But he saw the twitch in your lips when the question was asked.

“Great. I guess we’ll see you later then.”

You nod. “Okay. Bye guys.”

You suck in a deep breath when the fresh air outside of Heyward’s store brushes over you. Your heart thumps wildly with both excitement and nerves when you’re finally able to collect your thoughts. You don’t know what you’ll do tonight, but the possibilities can change your entire summer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You spent the rest of the day mopping up the cafe’s basement and rearranging the shelves. You smelled of sweat and coffee grounds by the time you were done and dreamt of the shower you would be taking when you got home.

Rory drove you home after the two of you closed up the cafe for the day. Neither of you said much. Rory was exhausted from running around behind the counter and you were too busy thinking about whether you’d go back to the place you used to call your second home.

You took a longer shower than usual, still pondering what your night would be like. Your head was telling you to stay home but your heart pulled you in the direction of the Cut. You yearned to hear about what the future held for Pope, and listen to John B retell stories of when you were kids, and be able to stare into JJ’s bright blue eyes without him noticing.

You changed into a pair of jean shorts and a plain red cropped tank. Rory walks into your room as your brushing out your hair and looks at you as if you lost your mind.

“Are you out of your mind? You can’t wear that,” She says.

You brows scrunch together in confusion. “What are you talking about? I wear shit like this all the time.”

“Not to the Country Club, you don’t.” That’s when it hits you. Today’s been so hectic, you forgot what day it was. “It’s Sunday.”

Sunday dinner at the Country Club is now a weekly commitment forced upon you by your grandparents. Each week, your mom, sister, and you are forced to spend one dinner with your grandma and grandpa. This is basically your mom’s payment back for sending you and Rory to Kook Academy. Only they actually pay for the dinner. It’s usually the longest two hours of your entire week. It’s hard to listen to your grandfather rant about Real Estate and your grandma slyly critique your mother in almost every aspect of her life.

“Shit. I completely forgot,” You say.

“Well, you better change. We’re leaving in about five minutes,” Rory says then plucks a gold necklace from your dresser. “Oh and can I wear this tonight?”

You sigh. “Sure.”

You change into a baby blue wrap around dress and pin your wet hair into a half up half down due. It’s gonna have to work for the limited time you have to get ready. After applying a thin layer of makeup to look the least bit presentable, you meet your mom and sister by the front door.

“Finally,” Your mom says when she sees you.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize it was Sunday.”

“It’s okay, honey. I just don’t think I can handle another late remark from Mom today.” She looks you up and down and grins. “You look great.”

Despite the many fiery fights you and your mom can have, she is also your best friend. It’s kind of like a love hate relationship. Steve says it’s because you’re exactly like your mom - almost like a sixteen year old version of her.

You really hope that isn’t true. You’re not ready to have a kid in two years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Your grandparents are already sitting at a round table in the corner of the country club by the two tall windows that reach up to the ceiling with a view looking out into the golf course. The best seat in the house for the richest a holes on the island.

“Lorelai,” Your grandmother grins, but you can instantly tell it’s sarcastic. “Did you have to walk here?”

You speak up before your mom could. “Sorry Grandma. It’s my fault we’re late.”

Your grandparents are hard on your mom but easier on you and Rory, especially Rory.

“Well, you’re here now,” Your grandpa says. He’s usually the mediator between your mom and grandma. Although he’s usually sucks at it. “Sit. Sit.”

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, JJ shuffles through his many coworkers with his apron in one hand and a piece of fried calamari from Miss Carol’s appetizer in the other.

“JJ -” She scolds and slaps his hand away from going in for a second piece.

“Good evening Miss Carol,” JJ smirks and makes his way to the area between the kitchen and dining room where most of the servers and bust boys hang out. Some of the boys slap him on the back or shove him by the shoulder, chuckling to themselves. “What’s going on boys? Busy crowd?”

“What are you doing here? You never work Sundays,” His friend, Mitch, says.

Luke Maybank was behind on several bills - worse than it’s ever been. They already shut off their electricity and JJ wanted to make sure the water wouldn’t be next.

But JJ shrugs nonchalantly. “Little extra dough can't hurt.”

“Well, you picked a good day,” Raymond walks up to the blonde, rolling his sleeves. “You got Kook Royalty and their Hybrid offsprings in your section.”

“What?” JJ looks through the small square Plexiglas on the swinging door. He knows exactly where to look and immediately sees you sitting with King and Queen Kook, looking absolutely miserable, pushing around your food with your fork.

“Damn, Maybank. Almost broke your neck - you turned so fast.”

“Shut up, Easterling. I was just seeing how crowded we were,” JJ lied. He really just wanted to see if you were here. And now that he sees you are, he’s a little nervous to do his own damn job.

Raymond Easterling chuckles. “Yeah, I know what you were looking at. But don’t get your hopes up. There’s a reason Kooks call that girl the Heart Sucker. Not even the high and powerful JJ Maybank could get a piece of that.”

The guys around JJ and Raymond chuckle and nod in agreement, hearing the stories of how you’d reject every single guy that’s ever asked you out. Sometimes you’d go on a few dates, trying to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but then things would quickly become too much, and you’d get overwhelmed.

JJ didn’t like the way Raymond talked about you or how the others laughed at your expense. His hands clenched into fists, tempted to throw a punch in Ray’s cocky face. The guy’s just being a jerk because he’s one of the guys that got rejected by you, he thought.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” JJ shakes his head and ties his apron around his waist to distract his hands.

“No?” Raymond challenges him. “You think I’m wrong? You think you could pull the infamous Hybrid over there?”

JJ glances back through the window. You’re looking at your grandma with a clearly forced grin. You’re twirling your hair between your fingers, a habit you picked up when you were little to do when you’re bored. JJ would find you doing that in school all the time.

You’re gorgeous, he thought. It’s no wonder that almost every guy on this island has tried to make a pass on you, including JJ himself, but his remarks always come off as playful, afraid of actually telling you how he feels about you. His fantasies about you went further than just getting you between the sheets. He could picture getting married, having children, and growing old together. Years ago, the two of you would talk about your future. Neither one of you cared about money or fancy jobs. All you wanted was to be free - of this island, of each other’s families, of responsibilities placed on you from birth. You hold the same values as JJ, and he’s never met another person like you.

But JJ has a hard exterior. No one other than his best friends know his true heart, and he wasn’t going to let someone like Raymond Easterling find out about his soft spot for you. He would never hear the end of it.

JJ looks at you one last time. You’re talking to Rory, your face in his direction. This time you’re smiling, probably discussing something other than your grandparent’s expectations of you. He’d kill to see that smile every single day.

What’s the worst that could happen? You reject him? Yeah, that might kill JJ inside, but maybe you’d still be his friend, or continue to be acquaintances like you are now. As long as he gets to see you, he’d be okay. There was always the future. But who knows? Maybe you’d say yes? He’ll never know unless he tries. Right?

JJ fakes the same cocky grin that Raymond wears. “I haven’t failed yet.”

The guys around him whistle and shake their heads with smiles.

“All right, Maybank. Let’s make a bet. I’ll give you one hundred dollars to get Y/N Y/L/N in the sack by the fourth of July.”

JJ scoffs. “You like giving away free money?” He ignored his racing heart at the thought of being that intimate with you.

Raymond nods. “Okay. Let’s put your money where your mouth is. Get her to say ‘I love you’ by the end of the season and I’ll raise you an extra hundred and cover all your dishwasher shifts in September.”

JJ raises his brows with surprise. No one offers to take the dishwashing shift. Sometimes the boys are pulled back there when the kitchen is short staffed and it’s easily one of the worst jobs at the Club.

This bet was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up. “Deal.” JJ says.

The boys shake hands on it and the other guys whisper to each other about how intrigued they are to see this play out.

JJ wipes his sweaty palms against his apron and pushes the door open to approach your table, hoping he can hear you over his thudding heart.

“Good evening folks. May I take those empty plates out of your way?”

You look up at the voice you know so well and a smile raises on your lips. JJ meets your eyes and he winks at you, splattering your heart in flutters.

“Please.” Your grandmother pushes her plate away from her, stuffed with filet and red wine.

“JJ,” Your mom grins up at him. Growing up, your mom always had a soft spot for the blonde Pogue. She’s heard the stories about his father, mostly from Steve, who actually grew up with Luke Maybank, his cousin. As a child, he was sent to live with Luke Maybank and his single father. Lets just say, he’s not surprised by the way Luke turned out. “Look at you. You’re all grown up now. Last time I saw you, Y/N was still pushing your head in the sand for stealing her popsicle.”

“Yeah. I quickly learned no one should mess with Y/N and her food,” JJ says.

“Never stopped you though,” You smirk at him.

“Lorelai. Who is this?” Your grandma asks, disregarding the boy himself.

“Mom,” Lorelai gives her mom a warning look. “This is JJ Maybank. He went to school with Y/N and Rory.” Lorelai knew to play it safe with her wording. She didn’t know where you and JJ stood. It’s been so long since you’ve seen him and she knew better than to ask.

“Nice to meet you,” JJ says politely. “I’d shake your hand but mine are kinda full.” He motions to the plates in his hand.

“That’s quite all right.” Your grandma’s smile is so forced, it makes you uncomfortable.

“I won’t hold you up. Has your server been around with the dessert menu?” JJ looks at you. “We have chocolate cake tonight.”

Heat rushes up your neck. Not because of the cake itself but because JJ remembered your favorite dessert. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. It was safe to save you were a choco-holic. The boys use to make it for you every year for your birthday. It usually came out burnt, none of them ever remembering how to properly make it. But it was all you needed to feel like a very special girl.

“Your favorite,” Rory elbows you.

Your grandma cringes. “Sounds like diabetes on a plate.”

“Mom,” Lorelai scolds.

“What?” She asks, not understanding the concept of a filter.

Now heat rushes to your cheeks for an entire different reason. “He did. We’re not doing dessert tonight. Thank you, though.”

JJ nods but feels disappointed by the way your face flinched at your grandmother’s comment.

“My pleasure,” He says like he was taught to do and excuses himself to drop the plates off in the back before he can say anything else that would probably get him fired.

Your mom looks at your with raised brows. “He’s cute, honey.”

“Lorelai, please. He’s the busboy,” Your grandma says.

“He’s a good kid, Mom.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” You stand up. “I have to use the restroom.”

Rory gives you a knowing grin as you walk away from the table. When you walk into the hallway between the dining area and the front lobby, you immediately feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Sometimes just the presence of your grandparents and their pompous judgements can be suffocating. You do your best to bite your tongue around them, excusing yourself when you feel yourself getting heated.

JJ catches a glimpse of your light blue dress out of the corner of his eye when he rounds the corner to collect the plates off a different table. He looks over his shoulder at Raymond, who’s staring at the blonde watching you, and winks.

“Hey, Y/N,” JJ says, walking up to you.

You look up from your phone and immediately smile. “Hey. I was actually hoping I’d catch you out here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” You nervously tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry about my grandmother. She can be...”

JJ shakes his head. “Hey. It’s okay. I work for Kooks almost every single day. I’m use to it.”

You sigh. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Don’t apologize for something you can’t control,” JJ says. “Besides, that’s probably the nicest she’s ever been to me.”

You hide your face in your hands. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”

JJ laughs and takes your wrists in his hands, slowly pulling them away from your face. Your eyes shoot up to his, immediately feeling a tingling feeling run through your skin, straight to your heart.

“It’s okay. I promise,” He says softly. His voice is so sincere that you have no other option but to believe him. It almost makes your feel guiltier, wondering how much bullshit he’s been through with ungrateful Kooks that it’s so easy for him to forgive and forget.

“Okay,” Your voice is a whisper, taken off guard by how close he is to you and how he still hasn't let go of your hands.

In that same moment, JJ realizes he’s still holding you and gently removes his hands. He coughs awkwardly and scratches the back of his neck, where sweat begins to bubble. Why is he so nervous?

“So um...” You say, suddenly feeling nervous too. “You going to John B’s tonight?”

JJ’s eyes shoot up in surprise. How did you know that? “Yeah. I’m heading over there after work.”

“I saw him and Pope at Heywards earlier today and they invited me over. I wasn’t sure if I should come or not.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Because it’s different now, you wanted to say. But you didn’t because you feel like the elephant in the room would only grow. And you didn’t want to admit you were nervous to meet Kie and Sarah outside of school.

You shrug. “I don’t know.”

“You should definitely come. The boys miss you.”

You pretend like a little piece of your heart didn’t just break when JJ didn’t say ‘we.’

“What time do you get off of work?”

“Around 9ish.”

You nod. “I can pick you up if you’d like and we could go together?”

Your heart races after you suggest it. What if he says no? Why were you feeling this way? This is the same kid you use to make fun of for pouring milk into his bowl before his cereal.

“Yeah. That’d be perfect.”

“Great!” Your phone pings with a text from Rory, telling you that your grandparents are wondering where you are. “Shit. I have to get back. I’ll see you at nine?”

“See you then,” JJ nods and turns back to the kitchen. When his eyes meet Raymond’s, he’s reminded of what he agreed to. Almost surprised how quickly he forgot about it. You were able to take his mind off of anything without even trying. He clears his throat to get rid of the giddy grin he was wearing after talking to you, wanting to look tough and casual in front of his coworker. “Easy.” He says to him. But that felt anything but easy. He could vomit with nerves.

“There’s still plenty of time for you to screw up, Maybank.”

JJ huffs. He’s not wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You drive up to the front of the country club and park in front of the main entrance. It’s 8:57. You’re early and will look eager. So you wait until 9:06 to text him that you’re here.

You changed into a pair of dark washed denim shorts, a yellow cropped tube top, a grey flannel, and navy converse. You changed your outfit about four times before deciding on your first one, not wanting to look too casual or too dressed up.

For the last three years, you wondered when the four of you would get back together as a group. You wondered if it would ever happen. And now that two Kooks are involved, you feel more nervous than excited.

You jump when the passenger seat door opens, lost in the depth of your own head. JJ smiles, not seeing your reaction.”Cool ride,” he says and looks around the interior.

“Thanks,” you say, pulling out into the road.

“I got you something,” JJ says.

You glance at him with furrowed brows. What could he have possibly gotten you since you saw him last? A book mark from the Country Club’s gift shop?

JJ reaches into his backpack and pulls out a plate with clear wrap around it. Your mouth drops when you see the chocolate cake on a plate in his hands, the smell immediately hitting your nose with pure delight.

“You saved me a piece?” You jump in your seat excitedly.

“Had to hide it good too or else Miss Carol would have had my ass handed to me,” JJ jokes and even pulls out two forks. He undoes the wrapping and cuts off a piece. He waits until you hit a stop sign and says, “Open up.”

You look at him and immediately open your mouth. He gently places the fork between your lips and you take the piece of cake off with your teeth. Like a baby.

Your eyes close with pure pleasure. “Oh my god. That’s amazing.”

“Miss Carol does know how to bake a mean cake,” JJ says and takes a bite of his own.

“Another one,” You say, glancing at the cake again. Like you said, choco-holic. “Please.” You say when JJ teases you by holding the fork away from you.

JJ laughs. “I like hearing you beg.”

You slap him in the arm with the back of your hand. “In your dreams, Maybank.”

“You got that right, Y/L/N.”

The two of you finish the cake with only a few bites each. Small but rich in chocolate that leaves you craving more. You were gonna have to meet this Miss Carol woman.

After he puts the plate back in his bag, JJ reaches for the aux cord, but you quickly slap his hand away. “Hey. What do you think you’re doing?”

“You’re seriously gonna make me listen to this the entire way to John B’s?”

You scoff. “I’ll have you know Blink-182 is one of my favorite bands.”

“It’s also soccer moms’ favorite band,” JJ laughs at you.

You turn up the volume, blasting ‘All the Small Things’ and point to your ear. “Sorry. Can’t hear you!”

JJ rolls his eyes but laughs along with you, even bopping his head to the beat. You drive with the windows down, dancing and singing along to a bunch of throwback songs with JJ as if the two of you have been doing this forever.

You pull up to John B’s and park behind his dad’s old van, better known as The Twinkie. When you turn down the music, JJ looks at you with a shake in his head. “Next time, I’m driving.”

“What was wrong with my driving?”

“We’re in the Outer Banks, Sparky, not NASCAR.”

You scoff and follow behind JJ who’s leading the way up John B’s driveway. As you get closer, you smell the smoky scent of a bonfire nearby and eventually hear John B’s laugh mixed in with a female’s. Your smile falters as nerves gather in the pit of your stomach.

“What’s wrong?” JJ asks.

“Nothing,” You say, but JJ easily catches your lie and gives you a knowing look. “What if they don’t like me?”

“Who? Pope and John B? I’m pretty sure they like you more than me even after three years -”

“Not them, you idiot,” You shove him playfully by the shoulder as you two let yourselves inside. “Sarah and Kie.”

“Don’t you go to school with them?”

“Yeah, but we don’t talk,” You say quietly, not wanting them to hear you.

“Hm.”

“What?” JJ shrugs. “Nothing. I just didn’t think you cared about what other people thought.”

“I don’t,” You say quickly. “But they're your best friends. It’s different.”

“You don’t need their approval. You technically were here first.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been replaced,” You try to say it as a joke and even throw a smirk in there.

But JJ stops in his track and looks at you seriously. “No one can replace you. Not even if they tried.”

You open your mouth to respond, but you’re at a loss for words. It’s not a common occurrence that JJ gets all serious on you. Warmth covers you like a blanket and the longer he holds your stare, the weaker your knees become.

“JJ! Is that you?” John B calls out from the backyard.

“Yeah,” JJ yells back. He opens the fridge in John B’s kitchen. “Want a beer?” He offers to you.

You shake your head. “No thanks.”

For the first time, you take in John B’s home. It looks the same as it did three years ago, only a lot messier. The pull out couch looks like its been used recently with blankets and sheets tossed about on it. Empty beer cans and cigarette butts are thrown messily on the coffee tables and the air smells faintly of old marijuana.

JJ leads you out to the back where four people are gathered around a fire. Three out of the four immediately smile when the two of you approach them, but Kie’s eyes narrow and her head tilts with confusion.

Shit, you think.

“You came!” Pope laughs and hops up from his beach chair and embraces you in a hug.

You laugh, not expecting the embrace, but welcoming it all the same. John B’s next, giving you a quick hug and shaking his head.

“I gotta say, I didn’t think you were going to come,” John B says.

“You can thank me for that later,” JJ says jokingly.

“Actually when I heard JJ was coming, I almost changed my mind and stayed home,” You joke and smirk JJ’s way.

“Just like old times,” Pope says, looking between you and the blonde. The banter felt like the yall never separated in the first place.

“Hey, you know Sarah and Kie, right?” John B points to the girls. Sarah stands up to say hi, and eventually Kie follows her, not wanting to look rude, but stays off to the side, keeping her distance.

“Yeah,” You wave awkwardly.

“Hey!” Sarah says sweetly. “I didn’t realize you guys use to all hang out.”

“Y/N grew up down the street,” JJ explains and sips at his beer.

“You want a drink or something?” Pope asks you, not knowing JJ already did.

“No thank you,” You say again.

“You don’t drink?” Kie asks. It was the first thing she’s said to you.

“Not usually,” You say and hold her stare. You try to get a read on her, but she’s had to get a tell on. You can’t tell if she just doesn’t like you or just doesn’t know you. Either way, it makes you uneasy.

“Here, I’ll go grab you a chair,” Pope says and walks to the side of the house to grab another beat up beach chair.

As the night goes on, you feel the tension in your shoulders loosen and your body feel lighter. Most of the night was spent retelling childhood stories the four of you shared. Sarah would laugh at most of them, occasionally rolling her eyes at her boyfriend from the stupid shit he would do, although it sounds like he’s no different to you now.

You talked about the time you and JJ stole a golf cart for a joy ride on Figure Eight, or when you and John B pranked Pope by putting a dead fish in his locker, or how you and John B learned how to play guitar from youtube tutorials.

Midnight came around quickly and exhaustion was slowly taking over your body. It’s been a long day between the cafe flooding, dinner with your grandparents, and now this.

JJ was the first to notice you slowly fading.

“You okay?” He asks you quietly as everyone else is caught up in conversation.

“Yeah,” You say, lazily grinning at him.

“We can leave if you want,” He says.

“You’re not staying?” You ask. It sounded like everyone was planning to spend the night here. And as much as you wanted to, you just didn’t feel comfortable enough yet.

JJ shrugs. “My dad’s out of town tonight. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself.” Before you can say anything, he stands and brushes his hands against his pants. “All right, losers. We’re out of here.”

“Aw, you’re leaving?” Sarah pouts.

“Yeah, I’m beat and Y/N’s my ride home,” JJ says.

You were glad he didn’t call you out for being tired. You didn’t want to look lame in front of everybody, especially Kie.

“Thanks for having me,” You say to everyone. It might have been John B’s house, but it was everyone’s night you intruded on.

John B stands up to hug you. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You nod. “I won’t. I promise.”

Pope hugs you next. “Text me when you get back safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye!” Sarah waves and Kie exhales a ring of smoke from her blunt.

You wave at them before following JJ back to your car.

“Nuh-uh-uh,” JJ says. You didn’t realize you both walked to the driver’s side.

“What? No.”

JJ nods and holds his hands out for your keys. “I’m not dying tonight.”

“You’ve been drinking and smoking all night,” You say. You didn’t think JJ was drunk or even that high, but you were not going to let a teenager with an ounce of alcohol in his system get behind the wheel. “Next time. For now, hold on to the cupholder.”

JJ sighs dramatically and goes to the other side of the car and hops in the passenger seat.

This time you keep the music quiet, listening to the hum of the radio instead of your phone.

“Take a left,” JJ says.

“JJ, I know where you live. And it’s not left.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

You snicker. “Not in the slightest.”

JJ rolls his eyes. “Just take the left.”

You hold your hands up in surrender and take the left turn. He directs you for a couple more miles until he has you park in front of a 24 hour diner.

“What are we doing here?” You ask.

“I’m in the mood for a milkshake.”

“We just had cake!” You say.

“Come on, Sparky. Show me what that mouth can do,” JJ smirks.

You go to hit him again but he takes off running to the front entrance and pulls the door open. You chase after him, almost running into his back at the front host stand where JJ safely smirks at you in triumph.

“Two please,” He says to the hostess.

The old cranky woman leads you to a booth off to the side next to a window without a word.

A couple minutes later, a waitress walks by and asks if you’re ready to order.

“Yes. One chocolate milkshake and one black and white milkshake,” JJ orders for both of you, already knowing what flavor you’d want.

“And fries, please.” You say. The waitress nods, takes your menus, and walks off. JJ raises his brow at the extra order. “What?” You shrug. “Just showing you what my mouth can do.”

JJ scoffs. “What a tease.”

You playfully kick his shin under the table.

“Did you have fun tonight?” JJ asks.

“Yeah,” You answer. “Felt like old times. The girls are nice too.”

You were about to only mention Sarah, but you didn’t want to cause any issues with Kie. Not yet at least. Maybe she just needed time to warm up to you.

“See? I told you they wouldn’t bite.”

A couple minutes later, the waitress comes back with your milkshakes and fries.

“How’s John B doing? You know, with the whole Big John thing?” You ask delicately, unsure of how JJ would react to you pestering about John B’s business. “I didn’t want to ask and bring the mood down,” You explain yourself although you don’t need to.

JJ shrugs. “He’s in denial I think. Won’t sign a death certificate until he sees a body. He could be worse, though.”

“Yeah,” You say softly. You don’t know what you would do if you were in that situation. In a way you felt lucky that you never knew your dad at all. It would be harder to lose him, knowing who he was.

You take a fry and dip it into your milkshake before taking a bite. This makes JJ freeze and look at you like you have two heads.

“What?” You say with your mouth full.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” You say and give him a look to do it.

JJ reluctantly picks up the fry and dunks it into his milkshake. He looks at the fry questioningly before popping it into his mouth. Somehow the sweetness of the milkshake and the saltiness of the french fry complement each other beautifully and his widen in pleasant surprise.

“Oh wow,” JJ says.

“Told you,” You smirk.

You spend the next hour catching up, trying to fit the last three years into an hour. JJ does most of the talking because you want to know more about what John B, Pope, and JJ have been up to. Your life was so boring and depressing, you didn’t want to bore JJ with the details.

You drive JJ home and talk for a few minutes more when you park. He seems to be procrastinating getting out of the car, but you don’t mind. You could talk to him all night, suddenly not feeling tired anymore.

“All right. I’ll let you get home before the sun rises,” He says and opens the door. He pauses when his feet hit the ground and he looks back at you. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to work at the shop, why?”

“Well, there’s a storm coming in. John B and I might go out to surf the surge before it hits. You still surf?”

You scoff. “Do I still surf?”

JJ holds his hands up in surrender. “Just checking. You think you can handle the surge?”

“Let’s not forget who the better surfer is, JJ.”

“I didn’t. It’s still me.”

“You wish.”

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Now you have a point to prove. You have to show JJ that you’re still the better surfer.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” You agree.

“Great, it’s a date.” He winks and shuts the door before you can tell him otherwise.

You giggle to yourself as JJ walks up the front yard and stay there until he you see he gets in safely.

You pull out of the driveway, wishing he had asked you out on a real date. One that didn’t involve John B.

Tag list: @super-funky-bisexual @sunsetswithjj @moniamaybank @throwawayfish @poguestyle17 @5am-cigarette @jjpouggues @fly-away-from-here @buckys2thicc

#JJ Imagine #jj fic #jj maybank imagines #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #jj obx #jj fanfiction #jj maybank imagine #outer banks imagine #outer banks imagines #outer banks fic #jj maybank one shot

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munchflix · 2 years

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FRIDAY THE 13TH TIER LIST

Munch: There's like....12 of these movies. This is gonna be long. And none of them make sense but that's okay because the plot is basically the same for every single movie. Jason shows up and wrecks some bitches and then he "dies" and gets resurrected by some magical means in the next movie, not unlike his counterpart Freddy Krueger.

Biscuits: I probably know these movies significantly better than Munch, sort of a role reversal of the last one. I'll preface this by saying I like most of the Friday the 13th movies, but are they good cinema? No. But most of them are enjoyably corny. Not all of them.

M: I think they gave up trying to be serious at some point. Maybe we can figure out where. PART THE ONE. A group of camp counselors trying to reopen a summer camp called Crystal Lake, which has a grim past, are stalked by a mysterious killer. But SPOILER ALERT it's not really Jason, it's his ma, Pam.

B: It is kinda boring. The first two are not like insanely bad because this early in the series they were still trying to take the movies seriously. It's probably a mid tier movie. I'd put it in B tier because we're gonna need room for the trash. M: We gotta rank it against ALL the other Friday movies, so I'd put it pretty high. It did have a couple novel things for it's time, the whole killer POV kills were really novel at the time. It did invent a lot of the tropes we now see. I'd go B as well.

B: It did have Kevin Bacon.

M: PART THE 2. Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings. Jason comes back with a bag on his head but at least he's doing the murdering now. I don't remember what happened in this except how he died. But not really because he's implied to still be alive. This was the one with Crazy Ralph tho!

B: The harbinger! They had that whole mommy roleplay in the end where the main chick pretended to be Jason's mom in order to kill him. The second movie is kinda boring too. C tier? It's not the worst thing ever. It does introduce Jason as the killer.

M: Okay, C tier. PART THE THREE. Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who's just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake. All these imdb blurbs are the same. Jason kills people. I have zero recollection of this movie. After reading the synopsis I still barely remember it.

B: It's got the weird guy who wanted to be Franklin from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but wasn't and the who kept playing pranks on people. He was really annoying and they gave him too much screentime. There's also a weird side plot with a biker gang that never comes to fruition. He does get the hockey mask.

M: I've seen every single one of these and this one is leaving the least impression on me so I'll say D tier. PART THE FOUR. After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake. Jason dies for real but not really.

B: This is the one with Tommy who does cool things, and all the weird campers. Also Crispin Glover's incredible dance number.

M: Why is there a skinny dipping scene in like every one of these? Even the remake has one.

B: They don't need a good movie if they got female presenting nipples.

M: Tommy dresses up as Jason in the end though and then like hacks him in the head.

B: I don't know why so much of the movie follows that one horny guy.

M: They were stretching for plot, okay? Rank?

B: C tier? It's better than three.

M: PART THE FIVE. Still haunted by his past, Tommy Jarvis, who, as a child, killed Jason Voorhees, is sent to a secluded halfway house in the countryside, where the killing of a young man triggers a brutal series of murders in the area. Tommy gets another movie.

B: It's not actually Jason though it's a guy pretending to be Jason who's killing people because it was his son that got killed in the beginning. I actually like this movie, I know a lot of people don't because ooh it's not actually Jason but its high tier.

M: It was one of the better ones, despite it's lack of technical Jason, the plot is fairly cohesive and it actually has a plot unlike most of these. Is it as good as the first one? Better?

B: Better, A or S tier. It also has that really good Psuedo Echo song in it. M: S tier then. PART THE SIX. Tommy Jarvis exhumes Jason Voorhees to cremate his corpse, but inadvertently brings him back to life instead. The newly revived killer seeks revenge, and Tommy may be the only one who can stop him. So this one is amazing, he somehow like leaves a shovel in Jason and lightning strikes it and Jason comes back and Tommy is like 25 now. And the sheriff doesn't believe anything he says even though like 10 people are dead. And then he drags Jason to the bottom of the lake with a boulder and a chain and he's dead but not really.

B: I didn't find this movie very interesting, apparently, because I didn't feel the need to record it in my memory. I've seen all of these movies. I know I have. I remember most of them just not this one.

M: It's still not great though. I'd d tier that shit. I was already tired of the Tommy fuckin' storyline at this point.

B: I guess it's not quite as vividly, explicitly terrible as some of the other ones. C tier.

M: Okay. PART THE SEVEN. Jason Voorhees is accidentally freed from his watery prison by a telekinetic teenager. Now, only she can stop him. I love this plot so much.

B: This one is weird because they just introduce a girl with psychic powers and then forget she ever existed. Tommy is gone and they just stopped caring.

M: This plot is so out there though, it's one of my favorites of the series. She's being manipulated by her therapist and he's making her think she's hallucinating and she brings Jason back to life with her FUCKING MIND. It's batshit insane. There was the whole thing with her father too where she telekinetically kills him.

B: How are we gonna rank this movie?

M: On enjoyment? I liked this one.

B: We're obviously not ranking them on cinematic merit, are we?!

M: A tier. It's batshit insane, it's fun. It's not S tier but....

B: Okay. I liked Part 5 more.

M: PART THE EIGHT! Fuck yeah. Jason Voorhees is accidentally awakened from his watery grave, and he ends up stalking a ship full of graduating high school students headed to Manhattan, NY.

B: Jason takes manhattan but he spends most of his time on a boat. He's covered in LUBE the entire movie. It has that guy who looks like Dacre Montgomery for some reason. There's this girl and her uncle who looks like Bill Nye tries to inject her with drugs. Jason literally punches a guy's head off, he breaks a porthole with his head, he walks through a glass door, it's great.

M: The sewers are filled with toxic waste that fucking MELTS Jason and he roars like a dinosaur, it's fucking FANTASTIC.

B: This is my favorite of the series, personally. It's peak Friday the 13th. The filmmakers were like - we don't really need to try anymore do we? S tier.

M: Absolutely S tier. PART THE FUCKING NINE. Serial killer Jason Voorhees' supernatural origins are revealed. Yeah okay.

B: Jason is body jumping and there's a guy eating hearts and Jason turns into a weird little slug thing and crawls into a woman's vagingo. It does have the greatest 2 second scene in film history though, where a guy's head is "smashed" into a car door and it's so obviously just a bunch of blankets wrapped around each other and there's no blood or anything. It's hilarious.

M: The slug thing is a real thing that happens. This movie is batshit in all the wrong ways. It's gross and weird and fucking...what. I don't know. It makes Jason X look coherent. D tier. F tier. Z tier.

B: Toilet tier.

M: PART THE TEN. Jason Voorhees is cryogenically frozen at the beginning of the 21st century, and is discovered in the 25th century and taken to space. He gets thawed, and begins stalking and killing the crew of the spaceship that's transporting him. This one is also insane. Jason is frozen in space and they bring him back and they kill him again but not really.

B: They scan his brain and it's the size of a pea so they insult him and he falls on their magical healing table and gets upgraded. It doesn't take itself very seriously at all.

M: The fx are really amazing. The android girl gets beheaded and they just have the actress on her knees with someone's arm wrapped around her neck and the camera at arm level.

B: Some of the jokes do land, there is the hologram scene. There is one part where they make a joke about Jason's dick.

M: David Cronenberg makes a cameo in this movie though so bonus points there.

B: He should have directed it, that would've been amazing. Like all of these were done by different directors.

M: So were the Nightmare movies, except the first and last ones were both Craven. I kinda love Jason X though. It's way better than Jason goes to Hell.

B: It's significantly better than Jason goes to hell. I'd put it in A tier.

M: I'd vote B tier but I'm willing to compromise. PART THE FREDDY VS JASON. We already kinda did this but how does it compare to the other Friday the 13th movies?

B: Probably B tier in this one too.

M: It has better production value than most of these. Jason at least looked cool. PART THE REMAKE. Ugh. I hated this so much. It's so boring. It's so bland. All the attempts at humor fall flat, the acting is dull, it's just a mildly spiffed up rehash of everything we've seen. It's better than Jason goes to hell but barely. I'd still D tier this shit.

B: It's not that good. Jason is barely in it. That's kind of a trend in a lot of these. Not enough Jason. Low C high D tier. It's not good.

M: I think C tier is too much credit for this rehashed nonsense. I'm going D. Fuck that shit.

#friday the 13th #jason #jason voorhees #horror #tier list #review #voorhees #kevin bacon

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